GEO,  0,  WASIIBURN'S 


GIFT    OF 

JANE  K.SATHER 


ANTHONY  BURNS 


A     HISTORY 


BY 

CHARLES    EMERY   STEVENS 


BOSTON 
JOHN    P   JEWETT   AND    COMPANY 

M  DCCC  LVI 


O 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1856,  by 

CHARLES    EMERY    STEVENS, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


tlTHOTYPED  BY  THE  AMERICAN   STEREOTYPE  COMPANY, 
PUCENIX  BUILDING,   BOSTON. 


PRINTED  BY  D.    S.    FORD  AND  COMPANY. 


"  THE   GENRALL    COKTE,  CONCEIVING  THEMSELUES 

BOUND  BY  YE  FIRST  OPORTUNITY  TO  BEAR  WITNES 
AGAINST  YE  HAYNOS  &  CRYING  SINN  OF  MAN  STEAL 
ING,  AS  ALSO  TO  PRSCRIBE  SUCH  TIMELY  REDRESSE 
FOR  WHAT  IS  PAST,  &  SUCH  A  LAW  FOR  YB  FUTURE 
AS  MAY  SUFFICIENTLY  DETERR  ALL  OTHBS  BELONG 
ING  TO  US  TO  HAVE  TO  DO  IN  SUCH  VILE  &  MOST 
ODIOUS  COURSES,  IUSTLY  ABHORED  OF  ALL  GOOD 
&  IUST  MEN,  DO  ORDER,  YT  YE  NEGRO  INTERPRETER, 
WTH  OTHRS  UNLAWFULLY  TAKEN,  BE,  BY  YE  FIRST 
OPORTUNITY,  (AT  YE  CHARGE  OF  YE  COUNTRY  FOR 
PRSENT,)  SENT  TO  HIS  NATIVE  COUNTRY  OF  GlNNY, 
&  A  LETTER  WTH  HIM  OF  YE  INDIGNATION  OF  YK 
CoRTE  THEREABOUTS,  &  IUSTICE  HEREOF,  DESIRE- 
ING  0R  HONORED  GOVRNR  WOULD  PLEASE  TO  PUT 


Records  of  Massachusetts,  November,  1646. 

JOHN  WIXTHROP,  Governor. 


(8) 


"Est  quidem  vera  lex,  recta  ratio,  naturae  congruens,  difFusa  in 
omnes,  constans,  sempiterna,  quse  vocet  ad  officium  jubendo, 
vetando  a  fraude  deterreat,  quee  tamen  neque  probos  frustra  jubet 
ant  vetat,  nee  improbos  jubendo  aut  vetando  movet.  Huic  legi 
nee  obrogari  fas  est,  neque  derogari  ex  hac  aliquid  licet,  neque  tota 
abrogari  potest.  NEC  VERO  AUT  PER  SENATUM  AUT  PER  POPU- 
LUM  SOLVI  HAC  LEGS  POSSUMUS,  neque  est  quserendus  explan- 
ator  aut  interpres  ejus  alius.  Nee  erit  alia  lex  Eomae,  alia  Athenis, 
alia  nunc,  alia  posthac ;  sed  et  omnes  gentes,  et  omni  tempore,  una 
lex  et  sempiterna  et  immortalis  continebit ;  unusque  erit  communis 
quasi  magister  et  imperator  omnium,  Deus  ille,  legis  hujus  inventor, 
disceptator,  lator ;  cui  qui  non  parebit,  ipse  se  fugiet,  ac  naturam 
hominis  aspernabitur,  atque  hoc  ipso  luet  maximas  pcenas,  etiamsi 
csetera  supplicia  quse  putantur,  fugiet." 

CICERO  De  Reputtica. 


PREFACE. 


•  THE  extradition  of  Anthony  Burns  as  a  fugitive  slave 
was  the  most  memorable  case  of  the  kind  that  has  oc 
curred  since  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  It 
was  memorable  for  the  place  and  for  the  time  of  its  occur 
rence  ;  the  place  being  the  ancient  and  chief  seat  of  Lib 
erty  in  America,  and  the  time  being  just  the  moment  when 
the  cause  of  Liberty  had  received  a  most  wicked  and  crush 
ing  blow  from  the  hand  of  the  Federal  Government.  It 
was  memorable  also  for  the  difficulty  with  which  it  was 
accomplished,  for  the  intense  popular  excitement  which  it 
caused,  for  the  unexampled  expense  which  it  entailed,  for 
the  grave  questions  of  law  which  it  involved,  for  the  pun 
ishment  which  it  brought  down  upon  the  head  of  the  chief 
actor,  and  for  the  political  revolution  which  it  drew  on. 
Viewing  it  thus,  it  seemed  to  me  to  merit  an  elaborate 
record ;  and  as  unusual  facilities  were  furnished  me,  I  ven 
tured  upon  the  task. 

My  materials  have  been  derived  chiefly  from  original 
sources.  Of  much  that  is  narrated,  I  was  myself  an  eye 
witness.  I  was  present  at  the  Faneuil  Hall  meeting  from 

its  commencement  to  its  close,  and  I  witnessed  the  attack 

1*  (v) 


VI  PEEPACE. 

on  the  Court  House.  Throughout  the  trial  of  Burns,  save 
a  short  interval,  I  had  a  seat  within  the  bar,  and  carefully 
observed  the  arrangements  made  by  the  Marshal,  and  the 
demeanor  of  the  various  parties.  While  the  troops  were 
drawn  up  on  the  Common,  on  the  second  of  June,  I  passed 
up  and  down  the  lines,  and  took  note  of  their  conduct. 
Afterward,  on  the  same  day,  I  traversed  that  section 
of  the  city  from  which  the  citizens  were  excluded  by 
force  of  martial  law,  and  noticed  the  manner  in  which 
the  troops  and  the  police  were  disposed  for  the  purpose  of 
guarding  the  streets  and  avenues.  Finally,  I  stood  upon 
the  steps  of  the  Custom  House,  when  the  Marshal  with  his 
posse  and  prisoner  passed  on  his  way  to  the  wharf,  and 
witnessed  the  assault  of  the  soldiers,  with  sabres  and  bay 
onets,  on  the  defenceless  and  unoffending  multitude. 

The  account  of  the  early  life  of  Burns,  of  his  arrest,  of 
his  voyage  back  to  Virginia,  of  his  imprisonment,  and  of 
his  sojourn  in  North  Carolina,  was  taken  down  by  me  from 
his  own  lips,  soon  after  his  return  to  Boston.  For  placing 
full  confidence  in  his  statements,  the  reader  has  the  war 
rant  of  his  former  master,  Col.  Suttle,  who,  after  his  re 
turn  to  Alexandria,  bore  testimony  to  the  truthfulness  and 
honesty  of  Burns  in  a  letter  which  is  now  first  printed  in 
this  volume.  I  may  add  that  he  has  no  less  warrant  from 
all  who  have  known  Burns. 

The  true  history  of  the  transactions  respecting  the  Writ 
of  Replevin  is  here  for  the  first  time  made  public.  It  is 
drawn  chiefly  from  a  correspondence  (still  in  manuscript) 


PREFACE.  VII 

which  passed  between  Governor  "Washburn  and  the  Hon. 
Samuel  E.  Sewall,  shortly  after  the  rendition  of  Burns. 
For  the  use  of  this  correspondence  I  am  indebted  to  the 
courtesy  of  Governor  Washburn.  Some  additional  facts 
have  been  derived  from  the  officer  who  was  charged  with 
the  service  of  the  writ. 

The  Rev.  L.  A.  Grimes  bore  a  large  share  in  the  trans 
actions  here  narrated,  and  I  have  relied  chiefly  upon  his 
authority  in  recounting  such  matters  as  came  within  his 
personal  cognizance.  This  remark  is  likewise  applicable 
to  Mr.  Joseph  K.  Hayes,  who  was  a  captain  of  the  Boston 
police  until  the  second  of  June,  and  acted  a  conspicuous 
part  on  that  day.  My  acknowledgments  are  also  due  to 
Richard  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  Esq.,  and  Charles  M.  Ellis,  Esq.,  for 
important  documents,  and  for  information  besides. 

The  account  of  the  evidence  and  the  arguments  on  the 
examination,  is  abridged  from  the  reports  published  at  the 
time.  The  chapter  relating  to  the  trial  of  the  Commis 
sioner  is  based  on  facts  of  public  notoriety,  on  documents 
published  by  authority  of  the  General  Court  of  Massa 
chusetts,  and  on  the  original  records  of  that  body  deposited 
in  the  State  House. 

The  Appendix  contains  various  authentic  documents 
which  are  authority  for  certain  statements  in  the  narrative, 
and  are  otherwise  illustrative  of  the  subject.  Among  them 
are  copies  of  letters  written  by  District  Attorney  Hallett 
and  Marshal  Freeman,  and  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  clerk 
of  the  Courts,  at  Dedham. 


VIII  PREFACE. 

The  Illustrations  are  from  drawings  made  on  the  spot, 
by  an  artist  who  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  principal  scene. 
Adequately  to  depict  that  scene  —  presenting  to  view,  as 
it  did,  tens  of  thousands  of  spectators  —  was  impossible  on 
a  page  of  this  size ;  but  the  picture  here  given  will  greatly 
assist  the  reader  in  forming  a  distinct  conception  of  it. 
The  edifices  introduced  into  the  sketches  will  be  readily 
identified. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  volume  will  be  found  a  tran 
script  from  the  ancient  Records  of  Massachusetts.  The 
contrast  between  the  transaction  therein  recorded  and 
that  presented  in  this  narrative,  will  suggest  its  own  im 
pressive  lesson.  Immediately  following,  is  a  declaration  of 
the  Higher  Law  in  the  incomparable  sentences  of  the 
great  Roman  Orator  and  Moral  Philosopher. 


As  I  write  these  lines,  the  country  is  passing  through  its 
greatest  crisis  of  peril.  On  the  western  frontier,  civil  war 
is  flagrant.  At  Washington,  a  Senator  lies  wounded 
and  disabled,  having  been  stealthily  stricken  down  on 
the  floor  of  the  Senate,  for  words  spoken  in  debate,  by 
a  member  of  the  House  from  South  Carolina.  The  whole 
South,  with  trifling  exceptions,  applauds  this  assault  upon 
the  representative  of  a  sovereign  State.  A  National  Con 
vention  of  the  party  in  power  has  just  given  its  sanc 
tion  to  the  policy  of  which  these  events,  as  well  as  the 
extradition  of  Burns,  are  the  legitimate  fruits,  and  has 


PREFACE.  IX 

nominated  for  the  Presidency  a  person  who  has  pledged 
himself  fully  to  enforce  that  policy.  Should  that  person 
be  elected,  and  that  policy  be  enforced,  the  cause  of  Free 
dom,  whether  in  Kansas,  in  Washington,  or  in  Massachu 
setts,  would  have  just  reason  to  apprehend  a  repetition  of 
similar  assaults  from  the  slave  power.  To  avert  such  a 
calamity  every  good  citizen  must  labor  ;  and  I  hope  that 
this  History,  conceived  and  executed  for  a  more  general 
purpose,  may  contribute  somewhat  also  to  that  particular 
end. 

July,  1856 


CONTENTS. 


THE    ARREST 


CHAPTER    I. 

15 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE   ATTACK    ON   THE    COURT    HOUSE    . 

CHAPTER    111. 

THE    WRIT    OF    PERSONAL    REPLEVIN      . 

CHAPTER    IV. 

THE    ATTEMPT  9O    PUKCHASE    BURNS      . 

CHAPTER    V. 

THE   EXAMINATION          .  .          >  •  •  •          80 

CHAPTER    VI. 

THE    ARGUMENTS  ...  97 

(XI) 


xn  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    VII. 

THE    DECISION        .  .  .  .  .  .  .118 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

THE    SURRENDER  .  J24 

CHAPTER    IX. 

THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  BURNS     ....   151 

CHAPTER    X. 
THE  TRADER'S  JAIL 131 

CHAPTER    XI. 

THE    RANSOMED    FREEDMAN  .  .  .  .198 

CHAPTER    XII. 

THE    TRIAL    OF    THE    COMMISSIONER        .  +      .  .        218 

APPENDIX    A. 

WARRANT    FOR    THE    ARREST    OF    BURNS  .  .       247 

APPENDIX    B. 

THE    WRIT    OF    PERSONAL    REPLEVIN      .  249 


CONTENTS.  XIII 

APPENDIX    C. 

RECORD    OF    THE    VIRGINIA    COURT          .  .  .        252 

APPENDIX    D. 

THE  DECISION  WHICH  JUDGE  LORING  MIGHT  HAVE 

GIVEN         .  .  .  .  .'       '  .  .  254 

APPENDIX    E. 
THE  COMMISSIONER'S  CERTIFICATE      .        .'       .     262 

APPENDIX    F. 

MILITARY    ORDERS    OF   MAYOR    SMITH    .  .  .        264 

APPENDIX    G. 

LETTERS    OF    THE    U.    S.    MARSHAL    AND    THE    LT.    S. 

DISTRICT    ATTORNEY    TO    MAYOR    SMITH    .  .269 

APPENDIX    H. 

TELEGRAPHIC    CORRESPONDENCE    BETWEEN    U.    S. 

OFFICERS    AT    BOSTON    AND    THE   PRESIDENT     .      273 

APPENDIX    I. 

PROGRAMME  OF  ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  JUNE  2D   .   275 
2 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

APPENDIX    J. 

TESTIMONIALS    TO    JOSEPH   K.    HAYES     .  .  ,        277 

APPENDIX    K. 

LETTER    OF   BURNS    TO    THE    BAPTIST    CHURCH    AT 

UNION,  FAUQUIER    CO.,    VIRGINIA      .  .  .        280 

APPENDIX    L. 

THE  BARRE  SLAVE  CASE,  THE  FIRST  TRIED  UNDER 

THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  1780  ....        284 

APPENDIX    M. 

SPEECH   OF   THEODORE   PARKER   AT   THE    FANEUIL 

HALL    MEETING  .        289 


ANTHONY   BURNS. 


CHAPTER  L 

THE  ARREST. 

IN  the  evening  of  the  twenty-fourth  of  May,  1854, 
Anthony  Burns  was  arrested  as  a  fugitive  slave  in 
the  heart  of  Boston.  He  had  been  employed,  during 
the  day,  in  a  clothing  store  situated  in  Brattle  street, 
and  belonging  to  Coffin  Pitts,  a  respectable  colored 
trader.  The  locality  was  peculiarly  suggestive  of 
liberty  and  human  rights.  In  full  view,  at  the  dis 
tance  of  only  three  or  four  rods,  stands  Brattle  street 
Church,  imbedded  in  the  front  face  of  which  is  a 
cannon-ball,  preserved  as  a  sacred  memento  of  the 
Siege  of  Boston.  A  Little  farther  off,  but  also  in 
full  view,  stands  Faneuil  Hall.  The  street  itself, 
an  ancient  one,  perpetuates  the  name  of  one  of 
the  most  enlightened  friends  of  liberty  that  in  the 
early  days  assisted  in  building  up  the  Common 
wealth  of  Massachusetts.  In  this  favored  locality 
Burns  had  passed  exactly  one  month  of  quiet  free 
dom,  spent  in  honest  industry,  when  the  sudden 
interruption  of  his  happiness  took  place. 

2  (15) 


16  '  "ANTHONY*  BURNS. 


The  arrest  was  made  under  a  warran 


the  same  day,  by  Edward  G.   Loring 


issued  on 
a   United 


States  Commissioner.1  The  person  charged  with 
its  immediate  execution  was  a  man  wjho  had  al 
ready  become  infamous  by  making  the  hunting  of 
fugitive  slaves  his  special  vocation.  The  name  of 
this  man  was  Asa  O.  Butman.  He  had  been  ob 
served  in  the  store  of  Mr.  Pitts  during  the  day ;  but, 
although  he  was  seen  more  than  once  to  fix  his 
eye  upon  Burns,  no  suspicion  had  been  excited  by 
his  appearance.  Not  dreaming  of  danger,  Burns 
kept  about  his  business  until  the  hour  of  closing 
the  shop  arrived,  when  he  locked  the  door  and  de 
parted.  It  had  been  his  constant  custom  to  ac 
company  his  employer,  with  whom  he  boarded, 
directly  home ;  but  on  the  evening  in  question  he 
took  it  into  his  head,  from  mere  caprice,  to  stroll 
down  the  street  in  an  opposite  direction.  Mr. 
Pitts  meanwhile  pursued  his  way  homeward. 
After  going  on  aimlessly  for  a  few  rods,  Burns  re 
traced  his  steps,  intending  to  overtake  his  employer, 
who,  at  that  moment,  was  disappearing  round  the 
corner  of  Brattle  and  Court  streets.  Apprehend 
ing  nothing,  he  went  leisurely  along  until,  just 
as  he  had  reached  the  corner  of  Hanover  and 
Court  streets,  a  hand  was  roughly  laid  on  his 
shoulder,  and  an  exclamation  of,  "  Stop,  old  boy ! " 
arrested  his  steps.  On  turning,  he  found  himself 
in  the  grasp  of  Butman.  Still  unsuspicious  of  the 
real  state  of  the  case,  and  supposing  that  he  had 

1  See  Appendix  A. 


THE   ARREST.  17 

been  beset  only  by  a  street  brawler,  he  demanded 
to.  know  why  he  was  detained.  Butman  informed 
him  that  he  was  arrested  on  a  charge  of  having 
broken  into  and  robbed  a  jewelry-store.  Conscious 
of  innocence,  and  feeling  assured  that  he  could 
easily  clear  himself  of  the  charge,  Burns  made  no 
resistance,  and  did  not  even  alarm  his  employer, 
who  was  then  only  two  or  three  rods  in  advance. 
The  spot  where  the  arrest  was  made,  was  hard  by 
Peter  B.  Brigham's  drinking-saloon,  the  most  noted 
establishment  of  the  kind  in  Boston.  From  that, 
or  from  some  other  lurking-place  in  the  vicinity, 
six  or  seven  men  immediately  rushed  forth  to  the 
assistance  of  the  officer.  Encircling  the  prisoner, 
they  in  a  moment  had  him  off  his  feet,  took  him 
in  their  arms  horizontally  as  they  would  a  dead 
person,  and,  avoiding  the  side-walk,  rapidly  bore 
him  down  the  middle  of  the  street  to  the  Court 
House.  At  the  entrance,  they  were  received  by 
the  United  States  Marshal,  who  stood  with  a 
drawn  sword  upon  the  outer  steps,  manifestly 
awaiting  their  appearance.  Without  pause,  or 
being  set  down  upon  his  feet,  the  prisoner  was 
hurried  up  several  flights  of  stairs  to  the  United 
States  jury-room,  near  the  top  of  the  building.  He 
had  been  informed,  on  being  arrested,  that  he  was 
to  be  conducted  into  the  presence  of  the  person 
whom  he  was  accused  of  robbing.  Finding  no 
such  person  present,  he  now  demanded  to  know 
why  the  jeweller  did  not  come.  Butman  and  his 
2* 


18  ANTHONY    BURNS. 

associates  professed  wonder  at  his  non-appearance. 
The  delay  continued.  Suddenly,  the  truth  flashed 
upon  the  unhappy  prisoner  —  he  was  an  arrested 
fugitive  slave !  Then,  with  the  quickness  of 
thought,  the  whole  dismal  future  opened  up  before 
his  mental  vision.  As  in  a  dissolving  view,  the 
land  of  freedom  faded  out,  and  the  dark  land  of 
slavery  usurped  its  place.  He  saw  himself  again  a 
slave  ;  far  worse  than  that,  a  slave  disgraced ; 
pointed  at  as  a  runaway ;  punished ;  perhaps  pun 
ished  unto  death.  Overpowered  by  the  prospect,  he, 
in  his  own  simple  but  expressive  phrase,  "  gave  all 
up."  Fast  confined  within  granite  walls,  and 
closely  guarded  by  eight  armed  "men,  he  saw  the 
full  hopelessness  of  his  situation,  and  did  not  for  a 
moment  indulge  any  thought  of  escape. 

Twenty  minutes  had  elapsed,  when  the  door 
was  thrown  open,  and  the  Marshal,  accompanied 
by  two  men,  entered  the  room.  The  men  were 
Charles  F.  Suttle,  the  claimant  of  Burns,  and  his 
agent,  William  Brent;  Virginians  both.  Immedi 
ately  stepping  toward  the  prisoner,  Mr.  Suttle, 
with  mock  politeness,  took  off  his  hat,  saluted  the 
latter  with  a  low  bow,  and  said,  with  emphasis  on 
the  appellation : 

"  How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Bums  ?  " 

The  prisoner  had  no  reply  for  this  unseemly  tri 
umph  over  his  blasted  hopes. 

"Why  did  you  run  away  from  me?"  pursued 
Suttle.  ' 


THE   ARREST.  19 

"  I  fell  asleep  on  board  the  vessel  where  I 
worked,  and,  before  I  woke  up,  she  set  sail  and  car 
ried  me  off." 

"  Have  n't  I  always  treated  you  well,  Tony  ?  " 

To  this  question  Burns  made  no  answer. 

"  Have  n't  I  always  given  you  money  when  you 
needed?" 

"  You  have  always  given  me  twelve  and  a  half- 
cents  once  a  year." 

Nothing  further  passed  between  the  two,  but  in 
this  brief  colloquy  Burns  had  already  made  admis 
sions  decisive  of  his  fate.  While  it  was  going  on, 
Brent  stood  gazing  steadily  in  the  prisoner's  face, 
but  exchanged  no  words,  not  even  salutations 
with  him.  The  object  of  the  wily  slaveholder 
had  been  accomplished,  and  with  his  friend  he  now 
took  his  departure.  As  he  passed  out,  the  Mar 
shal  put  the  inquiry,  "  Well,  that 's  the  man,  is  it?" 
to  which  Suttle  responded,  "  Yes." 

No  sooner  had  they  gone,  than  the  door  was 
again  strongly  barred,  and  Burns  was  left  to  pass 
the  night  with  the  men  by  whom  he  had  been  ar 
rested.  Recalling  his  thoughts  from  Suttle,  he 
now  turned  with  indignant  scorn  upon  Butman. 

"  I  thought,"  said  he,  "  you  arrested  me  for 
stealing" 

"  I  was  afraid  of  a  mob,"  replied  the  dastard, 
"  and  that  was  the  reason  why  I  did  n't  arrest  you 
when  you  left  the  store."  He  added  that  he  had 
been  standing  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street, 
watching  for  Burns. 


20  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

"  If  you  had  told  me  the  truth,  it  would  n't  have 
been  so  easy  a  job  to  arrest  me,"  said  the  stalwart 
slave.1 

"  If  you  had  resisted,  I  should  have  shot  you 
down,"  was  the  retort  of  the  slave-hunter. 

Butman  rightly  judged  that  a  lie  was  necessary 
to  the  success  of  his  enterprise.  Had  Burns  sus 
pected  the  truth,  he  might  have  been  slain,  but  he 
would  never  have  been  captured.  His  flashing 
eye  and  deepened  tones,  as  well  as  his  words,  gave 
assurance  of  this,  as  he  spoke  of  the  subject  after 
ward. 

Butman  and  his  fellow  catchpolls  had  no 
thought  of  putting  themselves  to  any  personal  dis 
comfort.  Belonging  to  a  class  of  men  who  are 
governed  by  their  sensual  appetites,  they  reckoned 
upon  riotous  living  at  the  expense  of  the  Govern 
ment  as  a  part  of  their  reward.  So  infamous  was 
the  business  put  upon  them,  and  so  few  were  the 
persons  who  would  undertake  it,  that  they  in  a 
measure  had  the  Government  in  their  power,  and 
could  make  their  own  terms.  Accordingly,  no 
sooner  were  they  well  housed  for  the  night,  with 
their  prisoner,  than  various  choice  viands,  which  had 
been  ordered  by  them  from  a  neighboring  refec 
tory,  were  introduced  into  the  apartment.  With 
these  unwonted  luxuries  they  at  once  proceeded  to 
gorge  themselves,  while  Burns,  who  had  tasted  no 
food  since  noon,  was  left  to  pass  the  night  fasting. 

1  Bums  was  about  six  feet  in  height,  broad  chested,  and  otherwise 
firmly  built. 


THE   ARREST.  21 

Having  finished  their  repast,  they  beguiled  the 
hours  with  card-playing.  Tiring  of  this,  they  next 
fell  to  entertaining  Burns  with  talk  about  Simsf  of 
whom,  once  a  prisoner  in  the  same  room  like  him 
self,  he  now  heard  for  the  first  time.  At  last,  hav 
ing  exhausted  their  resources,  they  stretched  them 
selves  out  in  various  postures,  and  one  after 
another  sunk  into  sleep.  As  may  well  be  ima-^ 
gined,  there  was  no  sleep  that  night  for  Burns; 
seated  in  his  chair,  statue-like,  the  hours  flew  by 
him  unheeded,  while  his  great  calamity  stood  ever 
present  staring  him  in  the  face. 

With  the  next  dawn,  his  keepers  awoke  to  in 
dulge  their  appetites  afresh,  a  liberal  supply  of 
intoxicating  liquors  being,  as  before,  an  important 
item  in  their  bill  of  fare.  Burns  was  now  for  the 
first  time  invited  to  join  them  in  their  refreshments, 
but  he  loathed  food  and  declined  the  invitation. 
His  coarse  and  sensual  jailers,  unable  to  compre 
hend  what  nature  should  have  taught  them,  impu 
ted  his  refusal  to  obstinacy,  and  muttered  that  "  it 
was  not  worth  while  for  him  to  make  a  d — d  fool 
of  himself." 

In  a  short  time,  Biley,  the  deputy  marshal,  en 
tered  the  room  and  ordered  handcuffs  to  be  brought ; 
they  were  procured  by  the  ever  ready  Butman. 
With  these  Burns  was  manacled,  and  in  that 
condition  was  forthwith  conducted  to  the  United 
States  court-room  on  the  floor  below.  Suttle 
and  Brent  were  already  there ;  the  Marshal  and  ten 
or  twelve  persons  in  his  interest  were  the  only 


22  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

others  in  the  room.  Burns  was  placed  in  the  pris 
oner's  seat,  opposite  the  judges'  bench,  where  he 
remained  handcuffed,  with  Butman  and  one  of  his 
aids,  armed  with  revolvers,  seated  on  each  side 
of  him.  In  a  few  minutes  after,  Commissioner 
Loring  entered  the  room,  and  the  proceedings  in 
the  case  forthwith  commenced. 

As  yet,  the  public  had  received  no  hint  of  the 
arrest ;  the  morning  papers  of  the  city  were  dumb  ; 
apparently,  the  affair  had  escaped  the  vigilance  of 
the  ubiquitous  reporters.  It  was  the  purpose  and 
hope  of  all  the  parties  concerned  to  hasten  the  ex 
amination,  and,  if  possible,  remove  the  prisoner 
beyond  reach  before  any  rumor  of  their  proceedings 
should  get  abroad.  Unfortunately  for  the  success 
of  their  design,  Richard  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  happened  to 
pass  the  Court  House  just  before  nine  o'clock,  the 
hour  set  for  the  examination,  and  received  an  in 
timation  of  what  was  going  on  within.  He  im 
mediately  turned  his  steps  and  entered  the  court 
room.  Making  his  way  through  some  opposition 
to  the  side  of  Burns,  he  offered  the  latter  his  pro 
fessional  services.  The  prisoner  declined  them. 
"  It  will  be  of  no  use,"  he  said;  "they  have  got  me." 
He  added,  that,  if  he  protracted  the  matter  by 
^making  a  defence,  it  would  be  worse  for  him  after 
getting  back  to  Virginia.  The  humane  lawyer 
reasoned  the  matter  with  him ;  the  case,  he  said, 
depended  on  certain  papers  and  records  in  which 
some  flaw  might  be  detected.  Even  the  men  who 
guarded  him,  betrayed,  for  the  moment,  into  a  better 


THE  ARREST.  23 

impulse  by  his  aspect  of  despair,  joined  in  urging 
him  to  make  a  defence.1  Others,  also,  including 
Charles  M.  Ellis  and  Theodore  Parker,  who  had 
before  this  time  entered  the  room,  attempted,  but 
without  success,  to  persuade  him  to  make  a  stand. 

The  Commissioner  making  his  appearance  at 
this  juncture  as  before  stated,  Mr.  Dana  at  once 
went  up  and  spoke  to  him  privately.  Burns,  he 
said,  was  paralyzed  with  fear,  and  in  a  condition 
wholly  unfit  to  act  for  himself.  He  suggested  that 
the  Commissioner  should  endeavor  to  ascertain  the 
real  wishes  of  Burns  in  the  matter ;  and  that  for 
this  purpose  he  should  call  the  prisoner  to  the 
bench,  instead  of  addressing  Mm  while  in  the  dock, 
with  Suttle  sitting  between  them,  as  he  was,  and 
gazing  into  the  prisoner's  face.  "  I  intend  to  do 
so,"  replied  the  Commissioner. 

The  examination  now  proceeded.  The  counsel 
for  the  claimant  read  the  warrant  for  the  arrest, 
with  the  officer's  return  upon  it,  and  presented  the 
record  from  the  Virginia  court  required  by  the 
fugitive  slave  act.  Brent  was  then  put  upon  the 

1  See  Mr.  Dana's  testimony  before  the  committee  of  the  legis 
lature  on  the  subject  of  removing  Mr.  Loring  from  the  office  of 
Judge  of  Probate.  He  adds  :  "  I  have  heard  that  Burns  said  that 
afterward  some  of  the  officers  advised  him  differently,  and  tried  to 
make  him  suspect  us."  Mr.  Parker's  testimony  on  this  point  before 
the  same  committee  was  this  :  "  One  of  the  ruffians  that  guarded 
him  said,  '  You  may  ask  him  as  many  times  as  you  have  a  mind  to ; 
you  will  never  get  him  to  have  counsel  or  make  any  defence.'  The 
other  man  who  guarded  him  on  the  other  side  said,  '  Well,  Mr. 
Parker,  it  will  do  no  harm  to  try,  and  I  hope  he  will.'  " 


24:  ANTHONY    BURNS. 

stand  as  a  witness  to  prove  the  identity  of  the 
prisoner  with  the  person  named  in  the  warrant. 
His  testimony  was  received  without  interruption, 
until  he  was  asked  to  state  the  admissions  made 
by  Burns  to  Suttle  while  in  custody  the  night  be 
fore.  At  this  point  Mr.  Dana  interposed.  He  had 
remained  quiet  thus  far,  supposing  that,  after  the 
claimant  had  made  out  his  case,  the  Commissioner 
intended  to  redeem  his  pledge  by  calling  Burns  to 
the  bench  and  ascertaining  if  he  desired  to  make  a 
defence.  But  he  now  saw  that  the  prisoner  should 
at  once  have  counsel  to  object  to  the  introduction 
of  improper  testimony.  Accordingly  he  rose,  and, 
addressing  the  court  as  amicus  curice,  urged  the  pro 
priety  of  delay.  The  motion  was  resisted  by  the 
claimant's  counsel.  Burns,  it  was  said,  had  ad 
mitted  that  he  was  Suttle's  slave,  and  did  not  de 
sire  a  defence ;  and  it  was  broadly  hinted  that  the 
only  object  of  those  who  sought  delay  was  for 
public  purposes  of  their  own.  Disdaining  to  reply 
to  this  charge,  Mr.  Dana  continued  to  press  his 
point  with  great  earnestness.  He  was  followed  by 
Mr.  Ellis,  who  also  addressed  the  court  as  amicus 
curios. 

At  the  conclusion  of  these  addresses,  the  Commis 
sioner  directed  the  officer  to  bring  Burns  to  him. 
This  was  done,  after  the  manacles  were  covertly 
removed  from  his  hands.  The  Commissioner  then 
addressed  him  in  a  kind  manner,  told  him  what  the 
claim  was,  inquired  if  he  wished  to  make  a  defence, 
and  informed  him  that  he  could  have  counsel  if  he 


THE    ARREST.  25 

desired.  Burns  looked  round  the  court-room  timidly, 
and  made  no  reply. 

"  Anthony,"  said  the  Commissioner,  "would  you 
like  to  go  away  and  come  back  here  and  meet  me 
to-morrow  or  next  day,  and  tell  me  what  you  want 
to  do?" 

Mr.  Dana  watched  him  closely,  but  could  not  see 
whether  he  indicated  assent  or  dissent.  The  Com 
missioner  was  also  in  doubt,  but  after  a  moment 
said, 

"  Anthony,  I  understand  you  to  say  you  would?  " 

"  I  should,"  at  length  replied  Burns. 

"Then  it  shall  be  so,"  said  the  Commissioner, 
and  the  prisoner  was  conducted  back  to  his  seat. 

The  presence  of  Theodore  Parker  has  been  men 
tioned.  He  afterward  described  his  interview  with 
Burns,  and  the  appearance  of  the  latter,  in  the 
presence  of  Suttle.  "  As  no  counsel  had  been 
assigned,"  said  he,  "  I  conferred  with  Burns.  I 
told  him  I  was  a  minister,  and  had  been  appointed 
at  a  meeting  of  citizens,  minister  at  large  in  behalf 
of  fugitive  slaves,  and  asked  him  if  he  did  not 
want  counsel.  He  said,  '  I  shall  have  to  go  back. 
Mr.  Suttle  knows  me  —  Brent  knows  me.  If  I 
must  go  back,  I  want  to  go  back  as  easy  as  I  can.' 
'But  surely,'  I  said,  'it  can  do  you  no  harm  to  make 
a  defence.'  '  Well,'  said  Burns,  '  you  may  do  as 
you  have  a  mind  to  about  it.'  He  seemed  to  me 
to  be  stupefied  with  fear ;  and  when  he  talked  with 
me,  he  kept  looking  at  Suttle  and  Brent.  His  eye 
wandered  from  me,  as  an  insane  man's  eye  wan- 

3 


26  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

ders,  and  fixed  itself  on  Suttle.  When  Loring 
asked  him  whether  he  would  have  counsel,  his  eye 
fluctuated  from  Loring  to  Suttle,  and  back  again 
to  Loring,  and  when  he  said,  '  Yes/  he  turned  away 
from  Suttle  to  do  so." 

The  examination  was  adjourned  until  Saturday, 
the  twenty-seventh  day  of  the  month ;  and  when 
the  court  re-opened  on  that  morning,  a  further 
adjournment  till  the  Monday  following  was  ordered, 
on  the  ground  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour  when  the 
prisoner's  counsel  had  been  appointed.  Meanwhile, 
Burns  was  again  manacled  and  taken  back  to  the 
jury-room,  where  he  remained,  under  the  constant 
surveillance  of  four  armed  keepers,  from  Thursday 
until  Monday.  The  interval  was  industriously 
employed  by  these  tools  of  the  slaveholder  in  the 
livery  of  the  Federal  Government,  in  attempts  to 
lead  Burns  into  making  admissions  fatal  to  himself. 
All  the  cunning  of  their  base  natures  was  called 
into  play  to  compass  their  end.  They  made  the 
warmest  professions  of  friendship  for  him,  and 
invoked  the  direst  curses  on  their  souls  if  they  did 
not  make  their  professions  good.  They  plied  him 
with  questions  which,  quietly  assuming  the  fact 
that  he  was  Suttle's  slave,  looked  toward  informa 
tion  on  unimportant  points.  Thus  they  inquired 
whether  Suttle  "  raised  or  bought  him."  In  this 
instance  Burns  proved  too  shrewd  for  them,  and 
told  them  to  find  out  some  other  way. 

Still  pursuing  their  object,  they  sought  to  get 
him  committed  in  writing.  On  entering  the  jury- 


THE  ARREST.  27 

room  on  Friday,  Mr.  Grimes,  a  clergyman  of  Bos 
ton,  found  Burns  in  the  act  of  dictating  a  letter  to 
Suttle,  and  one  of  his  keepers  acting  as  an  aman 
uensis.  Burns  had  been  persuaded  to  take  this 
step  by  the  artful  suggestions  of  the  official.  The 
people  of  Boston,  this  fellow  said,  were  laboring 
under  the  impression  that  Suttle  had  been  a  hard 
master  to  Burns ;  this  tended  to  irritate  Suttle ;  but 
if  Burns  would  dictate  a  statement  to  the  contrary, 
it  would  cause  his  master  to  feel  more  kindly 
toward  him.  Ascertaining  these  facts,  Mr.  Grimes 
administered  so  stern  a  rebuke  to  the  fellow  that  he 
stammered  out  an  apology,  and  promised  to  destroy 
the  letter.  Nothing,  however,  was  farther  from  his 
thoughts ;  and  Burns,  now  made  aware  that  the 
letter  was  to  be  used  as  an  instrument  against  him, 
sought  to  get  it  into  his  possession.  After  some 
delay,  it  was  delivered  into  his  hands  for  the  pur 
pose  of  making  some  addition  to  it,  and  by  him 
was  immediately  destroyed. 

Following  their  natural  bent,  these  servants  of 
the  Federal  Government  invited  their  prisoner  to 
join  them  in  gambling  for  money.  His  reply  was, 
that  he  never  played  cards.  They  professed  to 
think  it  strange  that  he  should  refuse ;  Sims,  they 
said,  had  played  with  them  and  won  a  number  of 
dollars.  They  next  urged  him  to  entertain  them 
with  negro  melodies,  and  again  cited  the  example 
of  Sims  in  support  of  their  request.  But  Burns 
replied,  with  a  pathos  that  was  wasted  upon  their 
hard  natures,  —  "My  singing  days  are  over.  I 


28  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

have  now  learned  another  song."  Beginning  at 
length  to  suspect  the  religious  character  of  their 
prisoner,  one  of  them  jeeringly  requested  Burns  to 
pray  for  him.  "  I  trust  I  shall  do  that,"  was  the 
simple  reply. 

Thus  did  Burns  pass  the  hours  of  his  imprison 
ment,  alternately  the  object  of  treacherous  interro 
gations  and  the  sport  of  scoffers.  Thus  did  officers 
of  the  Federal  Government,  not  content  with  the 
infamy  attaching  even  to  the  strict  and  decorous 
discharge  of  their  function,  add  thereto  the  ineffable 
meanness  of  seeking  to  inveigle  their  prisoner  into 
some  unguarded  act  or  expression,  with  which  they 
might  hasten  to  the  slaveholder,  and  claim  a  reward. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE   ATTACK   ON  THE   COURT  HOUSE. 

THE  news  of  Burns's  arrest  quickly  spread 
through  the  city.  It  found  the  public  mind  in  a 
very  different  frame  from  what  it  had  been  in  at 
the  arrest  of  Sims,  three  years  before.  Those  who 
had  been  most  zealous,  on  that  occasion,  for  the 
execution  of  the  fugitive  slave  act,  now  stood  pas 
sive,  or  openly  expressed  their  indignation  at  this 
new  attempt.  No  immediate  step  was  taken, 
however,  except  by  an  association  styled  a  Com 
mittee  of  Vigilance.  This  association  took  its 
origin  from  the  passage  of  the  fugitive  slave  act. 
Its  sole  object  was  to  defeat,  in  all  cases,  the 
execution  of  that  hated  statute.  Thoroughly 
organized  under  a  written  code  of  laws,  with  the 
necessary  officers  and  working  committees  arranged 
on  the  principle  of  a  subdivision  of  labor,  with 
wealth  and  professional  talent  at  its  command,  actu 
ated  by  the  most  determined  purpose  and  operating 
in  secret,  it  was  well  fitted  to  strike  powerful  blows 
for  the  accomplishment  of  its  object.  The  roll  of 
its  members  displayed  the  most  diversified  assem 
blage  of  characters,  but  this  diversity  only  secured 
its  greater  efficiency.  The  white  and  the  colored 

3*  (29) 


30  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

race,  freeborn  sons  of  Massachusetts  and  fugitive 
slaves  from  the  South,  here  co-operated  together. 
Among  them  were  men  of  fine  culture,  and  of 
high  social  position ;  men  too  of  renown.  Some 
of  the  rich  men  of  Boston  were  enrolled  in  this 
committee.  A  most  important  portion  consisted 
of  members  of  the  Suffolk  Bar,  by  whose  counsels 
the  committee  were  guided  through  the  legal 
perils  of  their  undertaking.  The  treasury  was 
bountifully  supplied  by  voluntary  contributions. 
One  gave  of  his  poverty  what  he  could,  while 
another  subscribed  his  five  hundred  dollars.  The 
methods  of  operation  were  various.  Whatever 
tended  to  keep  the  victim  from  falling  into  the 
grasp  of  the  law,  or  to  rescue  him  if  haply  he  had 
already  fallen  in,  was  legitimate  to  their  purpose. 
If  a  fugitive  slave  arrived  in  Boston,  he  was  at 
once  taken  in  charge.  In  case  there  was  no  pur 
suit,  he  remained  at  ease ;  but  otherwise,  he  was 
dispatched  at  the  expense  of  the  Committee  on  his 
way  to  Canada.  Sometimes  the  officers  of  the 
law  were  notified  that  a  certain  vessel  with  a  fugi 
tive  slave  on  board  would  arrive  at  the  port  of 
Boston  on  a  day  named ;  but  this  Committee  of 
Vigilance  had  also  been  notified,  and,  while  the 
officers  were  waiting  on  the  wharf  for  the  vessel  to 
come  up,  the  agents  of  the  Committee  had  taken 
boat,  boarded  the  ship  far  out  in  the  harbor,  with 
drawn  the  slave,  —  perhaps  under  a  show  of  legal 
authority, — and  landed  him  at  some  solitary  point 
on  shore,  where  a  carriage  was  in  waiting  by  which 


THE  ATTACK  ON  THE  COURT  HOUSE.      31 

he  was  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  pursuit. 
Whenever  a  slaveholder  arrived  in  the  city,  he 
was  watched  and  the  object  of  his  visit  inquired 
into.  If  he  had  come  in  the  pursuit  of  ordinary 
business,  he  was  left  alone,  but  the  slightest  indi 
cation  that  he  was  in  pursuit  of  a  slave,  sufficed  to 
place  him  under  a  surveillance  that  never  ceased 
while  he  remained  in  the  city.  On  one  occasion, 
a  female  slave,  while  walking  in  the  streets  of 
Boston,  suddenly  beheld  her  owner  a  short  dis 
tance  off,  approaching  toward  her.  She  turned 
and  fled  down  another  street,  notified  some  of  the 
Committee  of  the  apparition,  and  the  same  night 
was  removed  from  the  city.  The  slaveholder  was 
traced  to  his  hotel,  and  never  lost  sight  of  after 
wards.  Night  and  day,  his  steps  were  dogged  by 
members  of  the  Committee.  When  one  had  fol 
lowed  him  a  certain  length  of  time,  he  was  passed 
over  to  another;  now  it  was  a  white  man,  and 
now  a  colored  man,  that,  ]jke  his  shadow,  pursued 
him  wherever  he  went.  It  was  afterward  ascer 
tained  that  he  had  come  to  Boston  in  pursuit  of 
the  very  slave  by  whom  he  had  been  recognized, 
but  who  had  fortunately  escaped  recognition  by 
him. 

By  this  Committee  of  Vigilance,  the  case  of 
Burns  was  now  taken  in  hand.  Early  in  the  after 
noon  of  the  day  following  his  arrest,  a  full  meet 
ing  for  the  purpose  was  secretly  convened.  On 
the  main  point  there  was  but  one  voice ;  all  agreed 
that,  be  the  Commissioner's  decision  what  't  might, 


32  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

Burns  should  never  be  taken  back  to  Virginia,  if 
it  were  in  their  power  to  prevent.  But  there  were 
two  opinions  as  to  the  method  by  which  they 
should  proceed  to  effect  their  purpose.  One  party 
counselled  an  attack  on  the  Court  House,  and  a 
forcible  rescue  of  the  prisoner.  The  other  party 
were  in  favor  of  a  less  violent  course.  They  pro 
posed  to  await  the  Commissioner's  decision ;  then, 
if  it  were  adverse  to  the  prisoner,  they  would  crowd 
the  streets  when  he  was  brought  forth,  present  an 
impassable  living  barrier  to  the  progress  of  the 
escort,  and  see  to  it  that,  in  the  melee  which  would 
inevitably  follow,  Burns  made  good  his  escape. 
Both  plans  were  long  and  vehemently  debated,  but, 
without  arriving  at  any  decision,  the  meeting  was 
adjourned  till  evening.  At  this  second  session,  the 
more  peaceful  method  prevailed  by  a  very  large 
majority.  For  the  purpose  of  arousing  the  popular 
feeling  to  the  requisite  pitch  and  also  indicating  to 
the  public  the  particular  line  of  action  which  had 
been  chosen,  it  was  at  the  same  time  decided  to 
call  a  public  meeting  in  Faneuil  Hall  for  the  even 
ing  following.  Another  step  was,  to  detail  a  cer 
tain  number  of  men  to  watch  the  Court  House, 
night  and  day,  lest  the  prisoner  should  be  removed 
unawares.  Some,  in  the  excess  of  their  appre 
hensions,  feared  that  the  Commissioner  might  hold 
a  midnight  session  of  his  court,  and  send  Burns 
back  into  slavery  under  cover  of  darkness.  For  the 
convenience  of  this  watch,  a  wealthy  member  of 


THE  ATTACK  ON  THE  COURT  HOUSE.     33 

the  association  threw  open  the  loft  of  his  ware 
house  and  liberally  furnished  it  with  provisions. 

The  advocates  for  an  assault  on  the  Court  House, 
though  outvoted,  were  not  to  be  beaten  off  from 
their  purpose.  At  the  close  of  the  evening  meet 
ing,  a  voice  loudly  called  upon  all  who  were  in 
favor  of  that  mode  of  action,  to  tarry  after  the  rest 
had  retired.  Fifteen  or  twenty  persons  responded 
to  this  call ;  but  when  it  was  proposed  that  they 
should  pledge  themselves  in  writing  to  engage 
with  force  and  arms  in  the  perilous  enterprise,  only 
seven  of  the  number  had  the  courage  to  affix  their 
signatures  to  the  agreement.  Not  dismayed  by 
such  severe  sifting,  these  seven  still  resolved  to  go 
forward;  and  the  following  night  —  the  night  for 
the  meeting  in  Faneuil  Hall  —  was  fixed  upon  for 
the  execution  of  their  plan. 

On  Friday  morning,  the  call  for  that  meeting 
appeared  in  all  the  papers  and  was  placarded 
throughout  the  city.  "  To  secure  justice  for  a  man 
claimed  as  a  slave  by  a  Virginia  kidnapper,  and 
imprisoned  in  Boston  Court  House,  in  defiance  of 
the  laws  of  Massachusetts"  —  thus  began  the 
notice.  "  Shall  he  be  plunged  into  the  hell  of  Vir 
ginia  slavery  by  a  Massachusetts  Judge  of  Pro 
bate  ?  "  —  was  the  more  ominous  interrogatory  with 
which  it  closed.  By  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
the  venerable  Hall  was  filled  to  overflowing.  The 
assembly  was  called  to  order  by  Samuel  E.  Sewall, 
a  distinguished  citizen  of  Boston.  George  R. 
Russell,  an  ex-mayor  of  the  neighboring  city  of 


34  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

Roxbury,  was  placed  in  the  President's  chair,  while 
among  the  Vice-Presidents  were  several  gentlemen 
who  had  been  of  the  Governor's  Council,  together 
with  Dr.  Samuel  G.  Howe,  the  distinguished  phil 
anthropist  and  historian  of  the  Greek  Revolution. 
Dr.  Henry  I.  Bowditch  and  Robert  Morris,  the 
colored  lawyer  of  Boston,  filled  the  post  of  Secre 
taries. 

The  subject  of  the  evening  was  introduced  by 
the  President  in  language  of  sarcasm  and  irony. 
"  I  once  thought,"  said  he,  "  that  a  fugitive  could 
never  be  taken  from  Boston.  I  was  mistaken! 
One  has  been  taken  from  among  us,  and  another 
lies  in  peril  of  his  liberty.  The  boast  of  the  slave 
holder  is,  that  he  will  catch  his  slaves  under  the 
shadow  of  Bunker  Hill.  We  have  made  com 
promises  until  we  find  that  compromise  is  conces 
sion,  and  concession  is  degradation.  /JThe  question 
has  come  at  last,  whether  the  North  will  still  con 
sent  to  do  what  it  is  held  base  to  do  at  the  south. 
When  Henry  Clay  was  asked  whether  it  was  ex 
pected  that  northern  men  would  catch  slaves  foiL- 
the  slaveholders,  he  replied :  '  No !  of  course  not ! 
We  will  never  expect  you  to  do  what  we  hold  it 
base  to  do.'  Now,  the  very  men  who  had 
acquiesced  with  Mr.  Clay,  demand  of  us  that  we 
catch  their  slaves.  It  seems  that  the  Constitution 
has  nothing  for  us  to  do  but  to  help  catch  fugitive 
slaves  !  When  we  get  Cuba  and  Mexico  as  slave 
states,  when  the  foreign  slave  trade  is  re-established 
with  all  the  appalling  horrors  of  the  Middle  Passage, 


THE  ATTACK  ON  THE  COURT  HOUSE.     35 

and  the  Atlantic  is  again  filled  with  the  bodies  of 
dead  Africans,  then  we  may  think  it  time  to 
awaken  to  our  duty.  God  grant  that  we  may  do 
so  soon !  The  time  will  come  when  slavery  will 
pass  away,  and  our  children  shall  have  only  its 
hideous  memory  to  make  them  wonder  at  the 
deeds  of  their  fathers.  For  one,  I  hope  to  die  in  a 
land  of  liberty  —  in  a  land  which  no  slave-hunter 
shall  dare  pollute  with  his  presence." 

Dr.  Howe  presented  a  series  of  resolves  that 
were  subsequently  adopted  by  the  assembly  as  the 
expression  of  its  sentiments.  They  embodied  these 
epigrammatic  sentences :  "  The  time  has  come  to 
declare  and  to  demonstrate  the  fact  that  no  slave- 
hunter  can  carry  his  prey  from  the  Commonwealth 
of  Massachusetts." — "  That  which  is  not  just  is  not 
law,  and  that  which  is  not  law  ought  not  to  be 
obeyed."  —  "  Resistance  to  tyrants  is  obedience  to 
God."  — "  Nothing  so  well  becomes  Faneuil  Hall, 
as  the  most  determined  resistance  to  a  bloody  and 
overshadowing  despotism."  — "  It  is  the  will  of 
God  that  every  man  should  be  free ;  we  will  as 
God  wills;  God's  will  be  done." — "No  man's 
freedom  is  safe  unless  all  men  are  free." 

One  of  the  ex-councillors  of  state  gave  his 
voice  for  "fighting."  John  L.  Swift,  a  young 
lawyer  of  fervid  oratory,  next  addressed  the  assem 
bly.  "" '"  Burns,"  said  he,  "is  in  the  Court  House. 
Is  there  any  law  to  keep  him  there  ?  If  we  allow 
Marshal  Freeman  to  carry  away  that  man,  then 
the  word,  '  Cowards,'  should  be  stamped  upon  our 


36  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

foreheads.  When  we  go  from  this  Cradle  of 
Liberty,  let  us  go  to  the  tomb  of  liberty,  the  Court 
House.  To-morrow,  Burns  will  have  remained  in 
carcerated  there  three  days,  and  I  hope  to-morrow 
to  witness,  in  his  release,  the  resurrection  of 
liberty." 

There  were  two  men  in  the  Hall  for  whose 
words,  more  than  for  those  of  all  others,  the  assem 
bly  impatiently  waited.  These  were  Wendell 
Phillips  and  Theodore  Parker.  Regarded  by  the 
public  as  the  leaders  of  the  present  enterprise, 
closely  associated  in  spirit  and  purpose,  and 
eminent,  both,  for  the  power  of  speech,  they  yet  dif 
fered  from  each  other  in  many  particulars.  Mr. 
Phillips  belonged  to  the  aristocracy,  so  far  as  such 
a  class  may  be  supposed  to  exist  in  this  country. 
He  had  an  ancestry  to  boast  of ;  his  family  name 
was  interwoven  with  the  history  of  the  Common 
wealth  ;  and  some  of  those  who  had  borne  it  had 
filled  high  offices  in  the  government.  Mr.  Parker, 
on  the  other  hand,  was  of  more  plebeian  origin ;  he 
had  been  the  architect  of  his  own  fortunes,  and 
was  by  far  the  most  distinguished  person  of  his 
lineage.  In  religion,  Mr.  Phillips  was  a  Calvinist, 
and  believed  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  were  the  in 
spired  word  of  God;  while  Mr.  Parker,  rejecting 
all  creeds  and  disowned  by  all  sects,  held  the  Bible 
to  contain  only  the  wisdom  of  fallible  men,  and 
claimed  for  himself  and  for  future  sages  the  possible 
power  of  improving  thereon.  Mr.  Phillips  was  a 
lawyer,  but  he  seldom  appeared  in  the  courts  ;  Mr. 


THE  ATTACK  ON  THE  COURT  HOUSE.     37 

Parker  was  a  clergyman,  and,  though  without 
a  church  and  eschewing  the  holy  sacraments, 
preached  constantly  to  a  large  but  shifting  congre 
gation.  Mr.  Phillips  excelled  in  oratory,  Mr. 
Parker  was  a  greater  master  of  the  pen.  The 
former  studied  men,  the  latter,  books.  Mr.  Parker 
had  a  wider  reputation  —  Europe  had  heard  of 
him ;  but  those  who  knew  both  would  have  for 
saken  him  to  hang  upon  the  lips  of  Mr.  Phillips. 
Mr.  Parker  had  secured  his  triumph  when  he  had 
uttered  his  speech ;  Mr.  Phillips  found  his  chief 
satisfaction  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  end  at 
which  his  oratory  was  aimed.  Mr.  Phillips  had 
the  garb  and  gait  of  a  gentleman ;  Mr.  Parker,  as 
he  moved  along  with  stumbling  steps  and  prone 
looks,  had  the  aspect  of  a  recluse  student.  In 
their  physical  characteristics,  they  differed  not  less 
than  in  mental  and  moral  traits.  Mr.  Phillips  was 
a  person  of  commanding  height  and  elegant  pro 
portions  ;  his  features  were  cast  in  the  Roman 
mould,  his  head  was  rounded  and  balanced  almost 
to  the  ideal  standard.  A  ruddy  complexion,  fair 
hair,  and  eyes  of  sparkling  blue,  showed  him  to  be 
of  the  true  Saxon  race.  Mr.  Parker,  on  the  con 
trary,  was  of  inferior  stature  and  ungraceful  form ; 
he  had  the  face  of  a  Diogenes,  and  his  massive 
head,  capacious  of  brain  in  the  frontal  region,  was 
not  symmetrically  developed.  He  had  an  atrabiliar 
complexion,  dark  hair,  and  large,  dark  eyes  that 
looked  forth  from  behind  spectacles  with  a  steady, 
unwinking  gaze. 


38  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

* 

The  speeches  of  both,  on  the  present  occasion, 
were  so  imperfectly  reported  that  the  public  abroad 
had  but  a  faint  conception  of  their  power  and 
effect.  Mr.  Phillips  was  the  first  to  speak. 

"  The  city  government  is  on  our  side,"  began  the 
orator;  a  storm  of  cheers  greeted  the  announce 
ment.  "  I  am  glad,"  continued  he,  "  to  hear  the 
applause  of  that  sentiment.  If  the  city  police  had 
been  warned  on  the  Sims  case,  as  they  are  now,  not 
to  lift  a  finger  in  behalf  of  the  kidnappers,  under 
pain  of  instant  dismissal,  Thomas  Sims  would 
have  been  here  in  Boston  to-day.  To-morrow  is 
to  determine  whether  we  are  ready  to  do  the  duty 
they  have  left  us  to  do.  There  is  now  no  law  in 
Massachusetts,  and  when  law  ceases,  the  people 
may  act  in  their  own  sovereignty.  I  am  against 
squatter  sovereignty  in  Nebraska,  and  against  kid 
nappers'  sovereignty  in  Boston.  See  to  it,  that  to 
morrow,  in  the  streets  of  Boston,  you  ratify  the 
verdict  of  Faneuil  Hall,  that  Anthony  Burns  has 
no  master  but  his  God. 

"  The  question  is  to  be  settled  to-morrow,  whe 
ther  we  shall  adhere  to  the  case  of  Shadrach  or  the 
case  of  Sims.  Will  you  adhere  to  the  case  of 
Sims,  and  see  this  man  carried  down  State  Street, 
between  two  hundred  men  ?  I  have  been  talking 
seventeen  years  about  slavery,  and  it  seems  to  me 
I  have  talked  to  little  purpose,  for  within  three 
years,  two  slaves  can  be  carried  away  from  Bos 
ton.  Nebraska,  I  call  knocking  a  man  down,  and 
this  is  spitting  in  his  face  after  he  is  down.  When 


THE  ATTACK  ON  THE  COURT  HOUSE.     39 

I  heard  of  this  case,  and  that  Burns  was  locked  up 
in  that  Court  House,  my  heart  sank  within  me. 

"  See  to  it,  every  one  of  you,  as  you  love  the 
honor  of  Boston,  that  you  watch  this  case  so 
closely  that  you  can  look  into  that  man's  eyes. 
When  he  comes  up  for  trial,  get  a  sight  at  him, 
and  don't  lose  sight  of  him.  There  is  nothing  like 
the  mute  eloquence  of  a  suffering  man  to  urge  to 
duty ;  be  there,  and  I  will  trust  the  result.  If  Bos 
ton  streets  are  to  be  so  often  desecrated  by  the 
sight  of  returning  fugitives,  let  us  be  there,  that  we 
may  tell  our  children  we  saw  it  done.  There  is 
now  no  use  for  Faneuil  Hall.  Faneuil  Hall  is  the 
purlieus  of  the  Court  House  to-morrow  morning, 
where  the  children  of  Adams  and  Hancock  may 
prove  that  they  are  not  bastards.  Let  us  prove 
that  we  are  worthy  of  liberty." 

Theodore  Parker  followed  his  coadjutor.  Ad 
dressing  the  assembly  as  "  fellow  subjects  of  Vir 
ginia,"  he  poured  forth  a  torrent  of  the  most  bitter 
invective.  At  the  close,1  he  proposed  that  when 
the  meeting  adjourned,  it  should  be  to  meet  in 
Court  Square,  the  following  morning,  at  nine  o'clock. 
"  To-night,"  shouted  a  hundred  voices  in  reply. 
The  speaker  stood  silent,  as  one  in  doubt.  At 
length  he  called  on  those  who  were  in  favor  of 
proceeding  that  night  to  the  Square,  to  raise  their 
hands:  half  the  assembly  did  so.  But  now  the 
excitement  burst  through  all  bounds, — the  vast 
Hall  was  filled  with  one  wild  roar  of  voices.  "  To 

1  See  Appendix  M 


40  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

the  Court  House,"  was  shouted  in  one  quarter ;  "  to 
the  Revere  House  for  the  slave-catchers,"  was 
answered  back  from  another.  In  vain  Mr.  Parker 
attempted  to  allay  the  tumult,  —  his  voice  was 
submerged  in  the  billows  of  sound,  and  he  stood 
gesticulating  like  one  in  a  dumb  show.  A  potent 
master  of  the  weapons  that  are  fitted  to  goad  the 
public  mind  even  to  madness,  he  lacked  the  sover 
eign  power  to  control  and  subdue  at  will  large 
masses  of  men.  Amid  the  uproar,  Wendell  Phil 
lips  again  ascended  the  platform.  The  different 
quality  of  the  two  men  then  appeared.  Ere  half  a 
dozen  sentences  had  fallen  from  his  lips,  the  assem 
bly  had  subsided  into  profound  stillness. 

"  Let  us  remember,"  said  he,  "  where  we  are  and 
what  we  are  going  to  do.  You  have  said,  to-night, 
you  will  vindicate  the  fair  fame  of  Boston.  Let 
me  tell  you,  you  won't  do  it  by  groaning  at  the 
slave-catchers  at  the  Revere  House  —  by  attempt 
ing  the  impossible  act  of  insulting  a  slave-catcher. 
If  there  is  a  man  here  who  has  an  arm  and  a  heart 
ready  to  sacrifice  anything  for  the  freedom  of  an 
oppressed  man,  let  him  do  it  to-morrow.  If  I 
thought  it  would  be  done  to-night,  I  would  go  first. 
I  don't  profess  courage,  but  I  do  profess  this  :  when 
there  is  a  possibility  of  saving  a  slave  from  the 
hands  of  those  who  are  called  officers  of  the  law, 
I  "am  ready  to  trample  any  statute  or  any  man 
under  my  feet  to  do  it,  and  am  ready  to  help  any 
one  hundred  men  to  do  it.  But  wait  until  the  day 
time.  The  vaults  of  the  banks  in  State  street  sym- 


THE  ATTACK  ON  THE  COURT  HOUSE.      41 

pathize  with  us.  The  Whigs,  who  have  been  kicked 
once  too  often,  sympathize  with  us.  It  is  in  your 
power  so  to  block  up  every  avenue,  that  the  man  can 
not  be  carried  off.  Do  not,  then,  balk  the  effort  of 
to-morrow  by  foolish  conduct  to-night,  giving  the 
enemy  the  alarm.  You  that  are  ready  to  do  the  rea1 
work,  be  not  carried  away  by  indiscretion  which 
may  make  shipwreck  of  our  hopes.  The  zeal  that 
won't  keep  till  to-morrow  will  never  free  a  slave." 

By  this  time  the  orator  had  his  audience  well  in 
hand,  when  suddenly  a  man  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Hall  shouted :  "  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  just  informed 
that  a  mob  of  negroes  is  in  Court  Square  attempt 
ing  to  rescue  Burns.  I  move  that  we  adjourn  to 
Court  Square."  A  formal  vote  was  not  waited 
for,  and  the  next  instant  the  whole  mass  was  pour 
ing  down  the  broad  stairs  and  along  the  streets 
toward  the  new  theatre  of  action. 

It  is  necessary  to  return  and  follow  the  move 
ments  of  the  little  band  that  had  pledged  them 
selves  to  the  forcible  rescue  of  Burns.  A  place  of 
rendezvous  had  been  appointed,  but  when  the  time 
for  meeting  arrived,  only  six  of  the  seven  appeared. 
The  defection  of  their  faint-hearted  companion  did 
not  shake  the  purpose  of  the  rest.  Feeling,  how 
ever,  that  their  number  was  too  small,  they  agreed 
to  go  forth,  and,  if  possible,  secure  each  man  six 
coadjutors.  This  effort  was  so  successful  that 
in  a  short  time  the  number  of  confederates  was 
increased  to  nearly  twenty-five.  Their  weapons 
of  attack  were  various;  some  were  armed  with 

4* 


42  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

revolvers,  some  carried  axes,  and  some  butcher's 
cleavers  that  had  just  been  purchased  and  were  left 
in  their  paper  coverings  for  better  concealment.  In 
a  passage-way  hard  by,  a  large  stick  of  timber  had 
been  secretly  deposited  to  serve  as  a  battering-ram. 
Soon  after  nine  o'clock,  everything  was  ready  for  the 
assault.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the  alarm  had 
been  given  to  the  meeting  in  Faneuil  Hall. 

Scarcely  had  the  crowd  from  the  Hall  begun  to 
pour  into  the  Square  when  the  assault  was  com 
menced.  The  lamps  that  lighted  the  Square  had 
already  been  extinguished,  so  that  under  cover  of 
darkness  the  assailants  might  more  easily  escape 
detection.  Strangely  neglecting  the  eastern  en 
trance,  which  was  not  secured  at  the  time,1  they 
passed  round  to  the  west  side  and  commenced  the 
attack  in  that  quarter.  The  Court  House  on  that 
side  presented  to  the  eye  an  unbroken  facade  of 
granite  two  hundred  feet  long  and  four  stories  high. 
In  the  lower  part  were  three  entrances,  closed  by 
massive  two-leaved  doors  which  were  secured  by 
heavy  locks  and  bolts.  Against  the  middle  one  of 
these  doors,  the  beam  which  had  been  previously 
provided,  was  now  brought  to  bear  with  all  the 
force  that  ten  or  twelve  men  could  muster.  At 
the  same  moment,  one  or  two  others  plied  their 
axes  against  the  panels.  As  the  quick,  heavy 

1  Col.  Suttle  happened  to  be  in  the  Court  House  at  the  time,  and 
escaped  by  the  east  door  after  the  attack  commenced,  leaving  to 
Batchelder  and  others  the  business  of  defending  his  property  at  the 
risk  and  sacrifice  of  their  lives. 


THE  ATTACK  ON  THE   COURT  HOUSE.  43 

blows  resounded  through  the  Square,  the  crowd, 
every  moment  rapidly  increasing,  sent  up  their  wild 
shouts  of  encouragement,  while  some  hurled  mis 
siles  against  the  windows,  and  others  discharged 
their  pistols  in  the  same  direction.  In  two  or  three 
minutes,  a  panel  in  one  part  of  the  door  had  been 
beaten  through ;  the  other  part  had  been  partially 
forced  back  on  its  hinges,  when  the  assailants  found 
their  entrance  obstructed  by  defenders  within.  The 
Marshal,  whose  office  was  in  the  building,  although 
not  anticipating  the  attack,  was  not  altogether 
unprepared  for  it.  In  the  course  of  the  day,  he  had 
appointed  fifty  special  aids,  and  posted  them  in  dif 
ferent  parts  of  the  spacious  building ;  he  had  also 
caused  to  be  deposited  in  his  office  a  large  quantity 
of  cutlasses.  On  the  first  alarm,  the  specials  were 
hastily  armed  with  these  weapons  and  set  to  defend 
the  assaulted  door.  As  often  as  the  pressure  from 
without  forced  it  partially  open,  it  was  closed  again 
and  braced  by  the  persons  of  those  inside.  While 
thus  engaged,  one  of  the  Marshal's  men,  a  truck 
man  named  Batchelder,  suddenly  drew  back  from 
the  door,  exclaiming  that  he  was  stabbed.  He  was 
carried  into  the  Marshal's  office  and  laid  upon  the 
floor,  where  he  almost  immediately  expired.  It  was 
discovered  that  a  wound,  several  inches  in  length, 
had  been  inflicted  by  some  sharp  instrument  in  the 
lower  part  of  his  abdomen,  whereby  an  artery  had 
been  severed,  causing  him  to  bleed  to  death.  A 
conflict  of  opinion  afterward  arose  respecting  the 
source  from  whence  the  blow  proceeded.  Some 


44  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

affirmed  that  it  was  an  accident  caused  by  one  of 
his  own  party.  It  was  said  that  Batchelder  was 
engaged  at  the  moment  in  bracing  one  part  of 
the  door  with  his  shoulders ;  that  while  he  was  in 
that  half-stooping  posture,  another  of  the  specials, 
seeing  through  the  opening  the  hands  of  one  of 
the  assailants,  aimed  at  them  a  blow  with  a  watch 
man's  club,  which,  missing  its  mark,  fell  upon  the 
head  of  Batchelder  and  drove  him  down  upon  the 
blade  of  his  own  cutlass.  Another,  and  perhaps 
more  probable  account  was,  that  while  Batchelder 
stood  bracing  the  door  behind  the  broken  panel,  the 
wound  was  inflicted  by  an  arm  thrust  through  from 
the  outside,  not  with  any  murderous  intent,  but  to 
compel  him  to  relax  his  hold. 

In  the  temporary  confusion  within,  caused  by 
this  fatal  result,  the  leader  of  the  assailants,  the 
Rev.  Thomas  W.  Higginson,  succeeded  in  forcing 
his  way  into  the  building.  None  followed  him, 
and  the  door  was  almost  instantly  closed  again. 
For  a  moment  he  was  alone,  face  to  face  with  his 
adversaries ;  the  next,  he  re-appeared  on  the  out 
side,  exclaiming  to  his  associates,  "  You  cowards, 
will  you  desert  us  now  ?  "  A  sabre  cut  across  the 
chin,  and  other  marks,  attested  the  rough  reception 
he  had  encountered  while  within  the  walls.  The 
courage  and  daring  displayed  by  this  person 
showed  him  to  be  a  fit  leader  in  such  an  enterprise. 
He  could  trace  his  lineage  directly  back  to  one  of 

1  Two  others,  of  those  engaged  in  the  attack,  effected  an  entrance 
a  few  moments  later,  and  after  Mr.  Higginson's  repulse. 


THE  ATTACK  ON  THE  COURT  HOUSE.     45 

the  most  distinguished  of  those  who  with  Endicott 
at  Salem  began  the  foundations  of  the  Common 
wealth.  Almost  at  the  same  moment  with  his  re 
pulse,  eight  or  nine  of  his  companions  were  seized 
by  the  police,  who  had  quietly  mingled  in  the 
crowd,  and  were  borne  off  to  the  watch-house.  In 
timidated  by  this  sudden  and  successful  movement, 
and  weakened  by  the  loss  of  their  comrades,  the 
rest  made  no  further  attempt,  and  very  soon  the 
crowd  began  to  disperse. 

The  room  in  which  Burns  was  confined,  was  on 
the  side  of  the  building  against  which  the  attack 
was  directed,  and  in  one  of  the  upper  stories. 
Burns  had  received  a  hint  of  the  intended  assault, 
but  his  keepers  were  entirely  unprepared  for  it. 
The  first  sounds  made  by  the  assailants  below, 
filled  them  with  extreme  terror.  Abandoning  their 
customary  pastime  of  card-playing,  they  hastened  to 
extinguish  the  light,  and  to  close  the  blinds  at  the 
windows.  Burns  was  then  placed  against  the  wall 
between  the  two  windows,  for  security  against  any 
chance  shot  that  might  enter  the  room,  while  they 
themselves  crouched  upon  the  floor  in  the  farthest 
corner.  A  box  of  pistols  and  cutlasses  had  been 
placed  in  the  room  on  the  same  day ;  this,  Burns 
was  forbidden  to  approach.  Their  position  did  not 
justify  such  an  excess  of  fear.  The  extreme 
height  of  the  room  from  the  ground  placed  it  be 
yond  the  reach  of  danger  from  the  outside,  while 
the  door  was  barricaded  by  seven  massive  iron  bars 
extending  from  top  to  bottom  at  intervals  of  not 


46  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

more  than  a  foot.1  Had  the  assailants  succeeded 
in  clearing  their  way  through  all  other  opposition,, 
this  formidable  barrier  alone  was  sufficient  to  have 
held  them  in  check  until  the  arrival  of  a  military 
force. 

In  another  part  of  the  building,  the  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts  were  assembled 
at  the  same  hour,  awaiting  the  return  of  a  jury. 
Some  of  the  latter  having  incautiously  put  their 
heads  out  of  the  window  to  ascertain  the  nature  of 
the  tumult,  were  fired  at  indiscriminately,  to  the 
serious  danger  of  their  lives. 

In  the  City  Hall,  hard  by,  the  Mayor,  with  several 
officers  of  the  municipal  government,  happened  to 
be  present  at  the  same  hour.  Notified  by  the 
Chief  of  Police  of  the  state  of  affairs,  he  at  once 
ordered  out  two  companies  of  artillery.  Both  ar 
rived  on  the  ground  before  midnight,  and  were  sta 
tioned,  the  one  in  the  Court  House,  the  other  in 

1  The  room  in  which  Burns  was  confined,  is  indicated  in  the  pre 
ceding  engraving  by  the  lighted  window  in  the  third  story.  It  was 
a  jury-room,  and  one  of  several  which  the  County  of  Suffolk  had 
leased  to  the  United  States  for  the  accommodation  of  the  federal 
courts.  As  Massachusetts  had  prohibited  the  use  of  her  prisons 
and  jails  for  the  confinement  of  fugitive  slaves,  the  jury-room  had 
been  converted  into  a  cell  for  that  purpose.  The  bars  were  placed 
across  the  door  on  the  occasion  of  Sims'  arrest.  Immediately  after 
the  extradition  of  Burns,  the  United  States  received  a  notice  to  quit 
the  premises  in  thirty  days,  which  was  done,  and  the  federal  courts 
were  removed  to  a  private  dwelling  temporarily  fitted  up.  The 
iron  bars  with  their  fastenings  were  removed,  and  the  room  was 
afterwards  partially  destroyed,  (perhaps  purified  also,)  by  a  fire  that 
seriously  threatened  the  destruction  of  the  whole  building. 


THE   ATTACK   ON  THE   COURT   HOUSE.  47 

the  City  Hall.  At  the  same  time,  the  Marshal  dis 
patched  his  deputy  to  procure  a  body  of  United 
States  troops.  Proceeding  to  East  Boston,  the 
deputy  there  chartered  a  steamer,  directed  his 
course  with  all  speed  to  Fort  Warren,  and  took  on 
board  a  corps  of  marines  under  command  of 
Maj.  S.  C.  Ridgley.  In  six  hours  after,  they  were 
quartered  within  the  walls  of  the  Court  House. 
Another  company  of  marines  was  dispatched 
from  the  Navy  Yard  in  Charlestown,  on  the  re 
quisition  of  the  Marshal,  and  was  also  quartered 
in  the  same  building. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   WRIT   OF   PERSONAL    REPLEVIN. 

THE  attempt  to  release  Burns  from  duress  by 
violence  having  failed,  steps  were  taken  to  accom 
plish  the  same  object  by  legal  process.  For  this 
purpose  resort  was  had  to  the  Writ  of  Personal  Re 
plevin.  This  writ  is  one  of  those  great  safeguards 
which  every  free  state  is  careful  to  provide  for  pro 
tecting  the  liberty  of  its  citizens.  Less  famous 
than  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus,  it  is  in  some 
respects  more  valuable  than  that,  more  efficacious 
in  securing  the  end  for  which  both  were  instituted, 
and  not  less  worthy  to  be  maintained  in  full  opera 
tive  vigor.  To  obtain  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus, 
special  application  must  be  made  to  a  judge  on  the 
bench  or  in  chambers,  and  it  rests  with  him  to 
grant  or  refuse  it  at  his  option  ;  often  it  is  refused. 
The  writ  of  replevin,  on  the  other  hand,  issues  of 
course  and  of  right ;  the  prisoner,  or  any  personal 
friend,  or  any  stranger  acting  in  his  behalf,  may 
cause  it  to  be  made  at  pleasure.  As  in  the  case 
of  ordinary  writs,  blank  forms  bearing  the  name 
of  the  Chief  Justice  abound;  one  of  these  is 
filled  up  by  an  attorney  or  some  competent  person, 
and  placed  in  the  hands  of  an  officer,  upon  whom, 

(48) 


THE   WRIT   OP   PERSONAL    REPLEVIN.  49 

from  that  moment,  it  becomes  imperative.  Under 
the  habeas  corpus  writ,  no  trial  by  jury  can  be  had; 
the  judge  alone  hears  the  case,  and  sets  the  prisoner 
at  liberty  or  remands  him  into  custody,  as  he  sees 
fit.  The  great  benefit  of  the  writ  of  replevin  is, 
that  it  secures  a  trial  by  jury.  The  judge,  under 
the  habeas  corpus,  will  be  certain  to  remand  the 
prisoner  if  he  finds  that  he  is  legally  held ;  he  will 
not  consider  the  question  of  the  prisoner's  inherent 
right  to  his  liberty.  But  in  the  trial  under  the  writ 
of  replevin,  the  prisoner  may  demand  a  verdict 
upon  the  question  whether  he  is  righteously  re 
strained  of  his  liberty,  whatever  the  legal  aspects 
of  the  duress.1 

This  great  popular  writ  was  one  of  the  most 
ancient  known  to  the  common  law  of  England. 
As  such,  it  was  introduced  into  the  English  colo 
nies  in  America.  In  Massachusetts,  it  remained  a 
part  of  the  unwritten,  or  common  law,  from  the 
earliest  period  until  the  year  1786,  when  its  pro 
visions  were  incorporated  into  a  statute.  For  a 
period  of  half  a  century,  this  statute  continued 
unchanged  and  in  full  force;  then,  by  the  enact 
ment  of  the  Revised  Statutes  in  1836,  the  Writ  of 
Personal  Replevin  was  abolished.  By  positive 

1  In  Massachusetts,  every  person  restrained  of  his  liberty  is  now 
entitled,  as  of  right  and  of  course,  to  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus. 
This  privilege  was  secured  by  the  act  known  as  the  "  Personal  Lib 
erty  Law,"  which  was  passed  by  two-thirds  of  both  Houses  over 
the  veto  of  Governor  Gardner,  May  21,  1855.  The  extradition  of 
Burns  was  the  immediate  cause  of  this  legislation. 
5 


50  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

enactment  it  ceased  to  form  a  part,  not  only  of  the 
written,  but  also  of  the  unwritten  law  of  the  Com 
monwealth.  The  watchful  friends  of  liberty  at 
once  sounded  the  alarm,  and  in  1837  the  Writ  in 
all  its  pristine  vigor  was  restored  to  the  statute 
book,  where  it  still  remained  at  the  time  of  Burns' 
arrest. 

The  first  use  of  this  instrument,  for  the  relief  of 
Burns,  was  made  on  the  day  following  his  arrest. 
A  writ  of  replevin  was  at  that  time  made  by  Seth 
Webb,  Jr.,  and  delivered  to  Coroner  Charles  Smith, 
who  forthwith  served  it  upon  the  United  States 
Marshal.  The  answer  of  the  latter  was  a  quiet 
refusal  to  comply  with  the  mandate  of  the  writ,  on 
the  ground  that  he  held  Burns  by  legal  process. 
No  effort  was  made  to  enforce  compliance;  the 
writ  was  returned  into  court  with  the  proper 
indorsement ;  and  thus,  for  the  moment,  the  matter 
rested. 

On  Sunday,  May  twenty-eighth,  the  subject  was 
revived  at  an  informal  meeting  of  certain  mem 
bers  of  the  Boston  Board  of  Aldermen,  held  for 
the  purpose  at  the  office  of  the  Chief  of  Police, 
who  was  also  present.  A  rescue  of  Burns  from 
the  custody  of  the  Marshal  before  the  Commis 
sioner's  decision  should  be  pronounced,  they  did 
not  propose.  But  it  was  thought  that  after  the 
decision,  an  interval  of  time  might  occur  when  a 
writ  of  replevin  could  be  served  without  involving 
a  conflict  with  the  United  States  officers.  Coro 
ner  Smith  was  summoned  to  attend  the  conference. 


THE  WRIT   OF  PERSONAL   REPLEVIN.  51 

On  appearing,  he  was  asked  if  he  would  under 
take  to  serve  the  writ  at  such  a  time  as  the  one 
mentioned.  With  some  hesitation  he  agreed  to 
do  so,  provided  the  sanction  of  the  Governor, 
Attorney- General,  and  City  Solicitor  of  Boston 
were  first  obtained.  This  answer  was  thought 
satisfactory  and  the  conference  ended.  On  the 
next  day,  the  Coroner  and  Alderman  Dunham 
sought  an  interview  on  the  subject  with  City  Soli 
citor  Hillard.  The  Solicitor  gave  it  as  his  opinion 
that  no  such  interval  of  time  as  they  contemplated 
would  occur,  and  strongly  advised  them  against 
proceeding  with  the  writ. 

While  this  was  passing,  two  citizens  of  Bos 
ton,  Samuel  E.  Sewall  and  Henry  I.  Bowditch, 
were  moving  in  another  direction  and  with  a 
bolder  purpose.  Mr.  Sewall  was  a  lineal  descend 
ant  of  that  ancient  Chief  Justice  of  Massachusetts 
who,  having  been  betrayed  by  the  spirit  of  the  age 
into  giving  his  judicial  sanction  to  the  prosecutions 
for  witchcraft,  soon  vindicated  his  innate  noble 
ness  by  a  solemn  act  of  repentance  in  a  public 
assembly  of  Ms  fellow-citizens.  The  finer  quali 
ties  of  this  Puritan  judge  re-appeared  in  Mr. 
Sewall.  A  man  of  pure  and  upright  life,  an 
eminent  lawyer,  a  wise  and  incorruptible  friend  of 
public  liberty,  he  naturally  rose  to  be  a  conspicious 
character,  and  was  more  than  once  honored  with 
the  nomination  and  support  of  his  party  for  the 
office  of  Governor.  Mr.  Bowditch  was  the  son  of 
America's  most  illustrious  mathematician,  the 


52  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

interpreter  of  Laplace.  He  was  a  physician  of 
eminence,  and,  like  Mr.  Sewall,  uncompromisingly 
hostile  to  the  fugitive  slave  act. 

It  was  the  desire  of  these  gentlemen  to  have  a 
writ  of  replevin  served  with  instant  dispatch ;  they 
were  quite  prepared  to  deliver  Burns  from  duress 
without  waiting  for  the  Commissioner's  decision. 
But  there  was  a  serious  difficulty  in  the  way. 
Burns  was  in  the  custody  of  an  officer  who  had 
expressed  a  determination  to  resist  the  state  pro 
cess,  and  who  had  a  strong  civil  and  military  force 
to  back  him.  It  was  plain  that  if  the  writ  was  to 
be  efficiently  served,  if  Burns  was  to  be  taken  out 
of  the  Marshal's  hands,  it  could  only  be  done  by 
the  aid  of  a  force  sufficient  to  overcome  that  which 
he  had  at  his  command.  Provided  such  a  force 
were  furnished  him,  Coroner  Smith  expressed  his 
readiness  to  serve  the  writ  and  release  the  prisoner. 
The  necessity  of  this  condition  was  apparent,  and 
Mr.  Sewall  with  his  coadjutor  proceeded  to  take 
measures  for  obtaining  the  required  aid. 

Under  the  circumstances,  the  ordinary  posse 
comitatus  was  out  of  the  question ;  for  it  was  not 
to  be  expected  that  an  undisciplined  throng  of  civil 
ians  would  be  able  to  make  head  against  the  serried 
ranks  and  balls  and  bayonets  of  the  Marshal's 
United  States  troops.  The  two  gentlemen,  there 
fore,  repaired  to  the  State  House  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining,  if  possible,  a  military  force  through 
the  intervention  of  the  Governor,  Emory  Wash- 
burn.  They  met  him,  by  chance,  in  the  office  of 


THE  WRIT  OP  PERSONAL  REPLEVIN.      53 

the  Secretary  of  State,  and  at  once  made  known 
the  object  of  their  visit.  Without  informing  him 
that  a  writ  of  replevin  had  actually  been  issued, 
they  put  the  case  by  supposition.  A  coroner  of 
the  city,  they  said,  was  ready  to  undertake  -the  ser 
vice  of  such  a  writ,  provided  he  could  be  sustained 
by  a  proper  force.  They  asked,  therefore,  whether 
the  Governor  could  not  order  out  a  sufficient  num 
ber  of  the  militia  to  enable  him  to  do  so.  In  reply, 
the  Governor  first  reminded  them  of  the  singular 
spectacle  which  would  be  presented  to  the  world  if 
he  were  to  comply  with  the  request.  The  militia 
were  already  under  arms,  by  order  of  the  Mayor  of 
Boston,  to  keep  the  peace  and  suppress  any 
attempt,  by  a  popular  outbreak,  to  wrest  Burns 
from  the  custody  of  the  United  States  Marshal : 
was  it  seemly  for  the  Governor,  he  inquired,  to 
command  the  same  militia  to  aid  one  of  the  state 
officers  in  taking  him  by  force  from  the  same  cus 
tody  ?  Aside  from  this  view  of  the  case,  he  said 
that  while  he  was  willing  to  do  anything  in  his 
power  to  aid  their  wishes,  he  thought  that  the  offi 
cer  to  whom  the  writ  might  be  committed,  was 
invested  by  the  statute  with  all  necessary  power  to 
summon  to  his  aid  the  posse  comitatus.  But  he 
doubted  whether  he  had  authority  to  order  out 
troops  to  aid  in  serving  a  particular  precept,  unless 
a  case  of  threatened  violence  or  actual  breach  of 
the  peace  could  be  made  out,  sufficient  to  call  into 
exercise  the  general  power  confided  to  the  Com 
mander-in-chief  for  such  an  exigency.  He  then 
6* 


54  ANTHONY    BURNS. 

read  the  provisions  of  the  statute  upon  the  subject, 
and  asked  Mr.  Sewall  whether  he,  as  a  lawyer, 
considered  that  the  Governor  had  authority  to  call 
out  troops  for  the  express  purpose  of  executing  the 
writ  in  question.  To  this  Mr.  Sewall  replied  that 
he  had  looked  at  the  matter,  himself,  and  had  great 
doubts  if  the  Governor  had  the  authority.  But  he 
added  that  in  his  view  the  fugitive  slave  act  was 
unconstitutional,  and  that,  consequently,  the  deten 
tion  of  Burns  by  the  Marshal  was  unlawful.  In 
answer  to  this,  the  Governor  said,  that  whatever 
might  be  his  private  opinion  on  that  point,  he  had 
been  taught  to  regard  the  judiciary  as  the  interpre 
ters  of  the  law ;  that  he  understood  the  courts  to 
hold  the  law  to  be  constitutional ;  and  that  therefore 
he  felt  bound,  in  his  official  relations,  to  regard  it 
as  such. 

Mr.  Sewall  now  raised  a  different  question.  By 
the  statute  providing  for  the  writ  of  replevin,  no 
vrrson  could  enjoy  its  benefit  who  was  "in  the 
>  ustody  of  a  public  officer  of  the  law  by  the  force 
of  a  lawful  warrant  or  other  process,  civil  or 
criminal,  issued  by  a  court  of  competent  jurisdic 
tion."  Burns  was  in  the  custody  of  the  United 
States  Marshal  by  virtue  of  a  Commissioner's 
warrant.  Mr.  Sewall  did  not  regard  the  Commis 
sioner  as  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  and 
consequently  held  that  Burns  was  entitled  to  the 
writ.  But  the  Governor,  planting  himself  on  the 
decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court,  held  that  the 
warrant  was  lawful,  and  that  Burns  could  not  be 


THE  WRIT  OF  PERSONAL   REPLEVIN.  55 

properly  interfered  with  while  in  the  Marshal's 
custody.  Yielding  for  the  moment  to  this  view  of 
the  case,  Mr.  Sewall  now  inquired  if  the  Governor 
would  order  out  troops  to  aid  in  serving  the 
writ,  after  Burns,  by  virtue  of  the  Commissioner's 
certificate,  should  have  passed  out  of  the  Marshal's 
custody  and  before  he  should  have  been  removed 
from  the  State?  To  this  question,  which  was 
substantially  the  same  as  that  which  Coroner 
Smith  had  propounded  to  the  City  Solicitor,  it 
does  not  appear  that  the  Governor  returned  any 
specific  answer,  nor  was  it  important  that  he 
should.  Mr.  Sewall  was  satisfied,  on  a  subsequent 
examination  of  the  fugitive  slave  act,  that  the  Com 
missioner's  certificate  would  not  give  Suttle  the  im 
mediate  possession  of  Burns,  but  that  he  would 
remain  in  the  custody  of  the  Marshal  without  any 
interval  until  he  should  be  surrendered  in  Virginia. 
No  opportunity,  therefore,  would  be  afforded  for 
serving  the  writ  upon  Suttle  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  Massachusetts. 

Having  delivered  his  own  views  on  the  subject, 
the  Governor  proposed  that  Mr.  Sewall  and  his 
coadjutor  should  lay  the  case  before  the  Attorney- 
General,  John  H.  Clifford,  the  legal  adviser  of  the 
Executive.  If  that  officer  were  able  to  suggest 
any  lawful  mode  in  which  he  could  aid  in  serving 
the  writ,  he  was  ready  to  adopt  it.  Here  the  in 
terview  ended.  Mr.  Sewall  at  once  sought  the 
Attorney- General;  but,  not  finding  him  readily,  de- 


56  ANTHONY    BURNS. 

sisted  from  further  pursuit,  in  the  conviction  that 
his  opinion  would  be  of  an  adverse  character.1 

The  conduct  of  the  Governor  in  this  affair  was 
subjected,  at  the  time,  to  severe  animadversion. 
But  those  who  blamed  him  most  were  least  in 
formed  respecting  the  facts.  Mr.  Sewall,  who,  as 
one  of  the  parties,  was  familiar  with  all  the  cir 
cumstances,  acquitted  and  justified  him.  With 
the  opinions  which  the  Governor  entertained  re 
specting  his  constitutional  obligations,  there  was, 
Mr.  Sewall  thought,  no  other  course  for  him  to 
pursue.  There,  however,  the  justification  stopped. 
The  conduct  might  be  justified  by  the  opinions  of 
the  Governor,  but  the  opinions  themselves  were 
condemned. 

It  has  been  seen  that  the  Governor  felt  bound, 
whatever  his  private  opinions  or  predilections,  to 
defer  to  the  authority  of  the  Supreme  Court.  A 
more  comprehensive  survey  of  the  action  of  that 
Court  would  have  furnished  him  with  equal 
authority  for  an  opposite  line  of  conduct.  The 
particular  decision  upon  which  he  rested  was  that 
in  the  case  of  Sims.  But  there  was  an  earlier 
judgment  of  the  Court,  which,  in  the  opinion  of 
eminent  jurists,  furnished  ample  sanction  for  the 
application  of  the  writ  of  replevin  to  persons  in 

1 A  little  later  in  the  day,  John  A.  Andrew,  a  member  of  the 
Suffolk  Bar,  waited  on  the  Governor  for  the  same  purpose,  but  on 
learning  of  the  interview  with  the  other  gentlemen  and  its  result, 
he  did  not  press  the  matter.  The  Governor  received  no  other  ap 
plication  of  any  sort  on  the  subject. 


THE  WRIT   OP  PERSONAL   REPLEVIN.  57 

precisely  the  predicament  of  Burns.  This  opinion 
was  directly  connected  with  the  restoration  of 
the  writ  of  personal  replevin  to  the  statute  book, 
in  1837.  The  committee  of  the  legislature  which 
reported  the  bill  restoring  the  writ,  also  made  an 
elaborate  report  on  the  general  subject  of  the  trial 
by  jury  in  questions  of  personal  freedom.  In  this 
report  the  opinion  of  the  Court  was  cited,  and  its 
vital  bearing  upon  the  question,  whether  a  person 
arrested  as  a  fugitive  slave  was  entitled  to  the  writ 
of  replevin,  was  illustrated  in  the  comments  of  the 
committee.  Very  pertinently,  the  opinion  had  its 
origin  in  the  arrest  of  a  fugitive  slave.  One, 
Griffith,  had  been  indicted  for  an  assault  on  a  negro 
named  Randolph.  In  his  defence,  he  alleged  that 
Randolph  was  his  slave,  and  that,  by  virtue  of  the 
fugitive  slave  law  of  1793,  he  had  a  right  to  seize 
him.  In  their  reply,  the  prosecuting  officers  pre 
sented  arguments  against  the  validity  of  that  law. 
The  Chief  Justice,  Parker,  in  giving  his  opinion, 
thus  disposed  of  them :  "  It  is  said  that  the  act 
which  is  passed  on  this  subject  is  contrary  to  the 
amendment  of  the  Constitution  securing  the  peo 
ple  in  their  persons  and  property  against  seizures, 
&c.,  without  a  complaint  on  oath,  &c.  It  is  very 
obvious  that  slaves  are  not  parties  to  the  Consti 
tution,  and  the  amendment  has  relation  to  the  parties. 
*  *  *  But  it  is  objected  that  a  person  may,  in 
this  summary  manner,  seize  a  freeman.  It  may  be 
so,  but  it  would  be  attended  with  mischievous  conse 
quences  to  the  person  making  the  seizure,  and  a 
habeas  corpus  ivoitld  lie  to  obtain  the  release  of  the 


58  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

person  seized"  And  if  a  habeas  corpus,  said  the 
committee,  then  of  course  the  concurrent  remedies, 
including  the  writ  of  personal  replevin. 

"  The  principle  here  stated,"  observed  the  com 
mittee,  "  when  carried  out  relieves  the  act  of  Con 
gress  (the  act  of  1793)  of  all  its  obnoxious  features, 
and  places  the  question,  under  the  law,  precisely 
where  the  committee  would  have  placed  it,  under  the 
constitution,  without  the  law.  It  holds  that  the 
proceedings  are  constitutional  as  to  slaves,  and  un 
constitutional  as  to  freemen,  and  gives  the  person 
seized,  the  right  to  try  the  question  as  to  his  char 
acter,  by  any  suitable  independent  process.  And 
this  principle  must  extend  to  his  situation,  either 
before  or  after  the  certificate,  for  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  magistrate,  upon  the  same  reasoning,  must 
be  special  and  limited,  depending  entirely  for  its 
foundation  upon  the  fact  whether  the  person  so 
seized  be  a  slave ;  for  if  he  be  not,  the  whole  pro 
ceedings  are  void,  as  against  the  express  provisions 
of  the  constitution.  It  makes,  then,  the  claimant 
act  at  his  peril  throughout,  and  gives  the  person 
seized  an  opportunity  to  try,  in  another  form,  the 
applicability  of  the  process  to  him,  and  that,  too, 
wherever  he  chooses." 

The  committee  therefore  expressed  the  opinion 
that  "whether  the  law  be  considered  unconstitu 
tional  on  the  one  hand,  or  valid  on  the  other,  upon 
the  construction  recognized  by  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  Commonwealth,  the  same  result  must  be 
arrived  at.  In  either  case,  a  person  seized  under 
the  act  of  Congress,  before  or  after  certificate  given. 


THE  WRIT  OF  PERSONAL   REPLEVIN.  59 

may  have  an  independent  process,  under  which  he 
can  try  his  right  to  the  character  of  a  freeman." 
In  concluding  their  report,  the  committee  remarked, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  writ  of  personal  re 
plevin  might  be  used  by  persons  arrested  as  fugitive 
slaves  in  the  investigation  of  their  claim  to  freedom, 
that  "  they  looked  to  that  use  of  the  writ  as  one  of 
its  just  and  legitimate  offices." 1 

The  court's  opinion  and  the  committee's  interpre 
tation  of  it  had  reference  to  the  fugitive  slave  act 
of  1793.  But  they  were  equally  applicable  to  the 
fugitive  slave  act  of  1850,  for  they  asserted  the 
general  principle  that  no  act  of  Congress  could 
deprive  a  person  of  his  constitutional  right  to  try 
the  question  of  his  freedom.  Accepting  this  ex 
position,  planting  himself  by  the  side,  deferring  to 
the  venerable  authority,  of  Chief  Justice  Parker 
and  his  associates  on  the  Supreme  Bench,  the 
Governor  might  have  said  to  Mr.  Sewall :  "  Burns 
is  entitled  by  the  constitution  and  the  law  to  the 
writ  of  personal  replevin.  Make  your  writ  and 
bid  the  officer  serve  it  upon  the  United  States 
Marshal  forthwith.  If  he  refuses  to  obey,  let  the 
officer  summon  the  posse  comitatus  and  enforce 
the  service.  If  the  Marshal  resists  with  the 
military  force  under  his  command,  the  case  will 
have  arisen  in  which  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the 
Governor  by  law  to  act.  Then  make  your  appli- 

1  Eeport  of  the  Judiciary  Committee  "  on  the  trial  by  jury  in 
questions  of  personal  freedom  "  made  to  the  Massachusetts  House 
of  Representatives,  March  27, 1837.  The  author  of  the  report  was 
James  C.  Alvord. 


60  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

cation  to  me,  and  I  will  call  out  troops  to  aid  in 
enforcing  the  writ,"  J 

The  interview  with  the  Governor  took  place  on 
Monday,  the  twenty-ninth.  Nothing  further  was 
done  respecting  the  writ  until  the  following  Wednes 
day.  By  that  time  the  prisoner's  case  had  assumed 
an  unexpectedly  favorable  aspect.  It  was  antici 
pated  that  the  Commissioner  would  set  him  at 
liberty.  In  such  a  case  threats  had  been  made  that 
Suttle  would  seize  him  again  without  warrant  and 
carry  him  off.2  To  meet  this  contingency  (and  no 
other),  a  writ  of  replevin  was  made  on  that  day 
and  placed  in  the  hands  of  Coroner  Smith.  The 
contingency  did  not  occur,  and  the  writ  remained 
as  waste  paper  in  the  officer's  possession.8 

1  The  whole  argument  may  be  briefly  stated  thus  :  1 .  The  fugitive 
slave  acts  of  1793  and  1850  are  commensurate  as  to  "competent, 
jurisdiction."     2.  The  constitutionality  of  both  has  been  affirmed  by 
the  Supreme  Court  in  two  different  decisions.     3.  The  right  of  the 
person  seized,  to  an  independent  trial  of  the  question  of  his  character, 
is  affirmed  in  the  first  decision  and  not  denied  in  the  second.     4.  The 
writ  of  personal  replevin  was  provided  by  the  Commonwealth  ex 
pressly  to  secure  such  a  trial ;  therefore,  5.  The  affirmation  of  the 
constitutionality  of  the  fugitive  slave  act  of  1850  is  no  bar  to  the 
use  of  the  writ  of  personal  replevin  for  the  purpose  of  determining 
the  character  of  the  person  seized  as  a  slave. 

2  Suttle  had  resolved,  under  the  advice  of  District  Attorney  Hallett, 
if  the  Commissioner's  decision  should  be  adverse  to  his  claim,  to 
seize  Burns  by  force,  remove  him  from  the  State,  and  for  justifica 
tion  of  the  act  rely  on  his  ability  to  prove  ownership  after  getting 
back  to  Virginia.     This  purpose  was  announced  by  Suttle,  on  the 
morning  of  June  1,  to  a  circle  of  his  southern  friends  at  the  Revere 
House,  and  in  the  hearing  of  the  Rev.  M.  D.  Con  way,  of  Wash, 
ington,  who  subsequently  stated  the  fact  to  Charles  M.  Ellis,  Esq., 
of  Boston,  and  the  Rev.  George  E.  Ellis,  of  Charlestown. 

8  See  Appendix  B. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE   ATTEMPT   TO   PURCHASE   BURNS. 

THE  rising  anger  of  the  people  filled  the  claim 
ant's  counsel  with  dismay.  They  feared  for  their 
own  personal  safety.  They  went  constantly  armed ; 
one  of  them  even  attempted  a  sort  of  disguise. 
Avoiding  the  thronged  thoroughfares,  they  stole  to 
and  from  the  Court  House  through  the  most  unfre 
quented  streets.  The  attack  on  the  Court  House, 
with  the  death  of  Batchelder,  wrought  their  fears  to 
a  still  higher  pitch.  It  showed  them  that  there 
was  a  band  of  men  ready  for  the  most  desper 
ate  service  that  might  be  necessary.  It  prophesied 
fearfully  of  the  future.  What  would  ensue  if  the 
fugitive  were  surrendered  ?  Surrendered,  they  at 
least  were  well  assured  he  would  be.  Foresee 
ing  this  result,  and  taking  counsel  of  their  fears, 
they  now  resolved  to  avert  the  threatening  tempest 
by  offering  Burns  for  sale.  Thus,  it  was  with  Col. 
Suttle  and  his  advisers  that  this  proposal  originated.1 

1  Colonel  Suttle,  despite  the  endorsement  of  his  courage  by  Vir 
ginia,  implied  in  his  military  title,  appears  to  have  been  thrown  into 
a  state  of  extreme  terror  by  the  angry  demonstrations  which  he  had 
provoked.  For  greater  personal  security,  he  changed  his  quarters, 
in  the  Revere  House,  from  a  lower  story  to  the  attic,  barricaded  his 
door  at  night,  and  kept  under  pay  four  armed  men  to  lodge  Avith 
him  in  the  room  and  guard  him  from  danger.  The  demonstrations 
6  (61) 


62  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

The  first  announcement  of  this  purpose  was 
made  in  open  court  on  Saturday  morning.  The 
counsel  for  Burns  had  moved  for  a  postponement 
of  the  examination,  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  a 
little  time  to  prepare  the  defence.  To  this  the 
counsel  for  Suttle  objected. 

"  Let  the  examination  proceed  now,"  said  one  of 
them,  Edward  G.  Parker,  "  and  if  Burns  is  given 
up,  I  am  authorized  to  say  that  he  can  be  pur 
chased." 

Among  those  who  heard  this  statement,  was  one 
who  had  already  done  and  suffered  much  in  behalf 
of  fugitive  slaves.  This  man  was  the  Rev.  L.  A. 
Grimes,  the  pastor  of  a  congregation  of  colored 
persons  in  Boston.  Approaching  the  counsel,  Mr. 
Grimes  inquired  upon  what  authority  the  state 
ment  had  been  made.  "  Col.  Suttle  has  agreed  to 
sell  Burns,"  was  the  reply.  Mr.  Parker  added  that 
the  sum  which  he  had  agreed  to  accept  was  twelve 
hundred  dollars.  But  a  condition  annexed  was,  that 
the  sale  should  be  made  after  the  surrender  had 
been  decreed.  Mr.  Grimes  inquired  if  Col.  Suttle 
would  not  consent  to  receive  the  sum  named  and 
close  a  bargain  before  the  surrender.  The  counsel 
thought  not.  Bent  on  securing  this  concession, 

which  so  excited  his  fears,  proceeded  chiefly  from  the  colored  men 
of  the  city.  For  example,  four  or  five  powerful  fellows  maintained 
an  unceasing  watch  on  a  street  corner,  which  commanded  a  view  of 
his  window,  and  never  left  the  spot  while  he  was  known  to  be  in  the 
house,  except  to  give  place  to  a  fresh  set.  It  was  afterward  con 
fessed  that  this  expedient  was  adopted  merely  to  intimidate  the 
Colonel,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  quite  successful. 


THE   ATTEMPT  TO   PURCHASE  BURNS.  63 

Mr.  Grimes  sought  an  interview  with  the  Marshal, 
by  whom,  on  mentioning  his  object,  he  was  referred 
to  Col.  Suttle.  An  introduction  of  the  slave- 
rescuer  to  the  slave-hunter  took  place,  and  a  long 
conversation  ensued.  Suttle  enlarged  on  the  fact 
of  his  ownership,  on  the  kindness  with  which  he 
had  treated  Burns,  and  also  on  the  latter's  good 
character.  But  to  all  suggestions  for  a  sale  before 
the  surrender,  he  refused  to  listen.  A  private  inter 
view  between  Suttle  and  his  counsel  followed. 
At  the  close  of  it,  the  latter  sought  Mr.  Grimes 
and  informed  him  that  their  client  had  at  length 
agreed  to  sell  his  slave  before  the  surrender  was 
made.  The  prompt  response  of  Mr.  Grimes  was — 
"  Between  this  time  and  ten  o'clock  to-night,  I  '11 
have  the  money  ready  for  you ;  have  the  emanci 
pation  papers  ready  for  me  at  that  hour." 

A  busy  day's  work  lay  before  the  benevolent 
pastor.  The  morning  was  already  w^ell  advanced, 
and  before  the  day  closed,  twelve  hundred  dollars 
were  to  be  raised,  not  one  of  which  had  yet  been 
subscribed.  Without  resources  himself,  he  had  to 
seek  out  others  who  might  be  disposed  to  contri 
bute  to  the  enterprise.  A  wealthy  citizen,  whose 
sympathies  had  hitherto  been  on  the  side  of  the 
fugitive  slave  act,  had  been  heard  to  say  that  if 
Burns  could  be  purchased  he  would  head  the  sub 
scription  list  with  a  hundred  dollars.  Informed  of 
this  by  Suttle's  counsel,  Mr.  Grimes  called  at  the 
gentleman's  house,  and  on  the  third  attempt  suc 
ceeded  in  finding  him.  The  gentleman  admitted 


64  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

that  he  had  made  the  pledge  already  mentioned, 
but  he  now  declined  to  redeem  it.  He  had  since 
met  a  person,  he  said,  who  had  assured  him  that 
the  slave  could  not  be  purchased,  —  that  he  must  be 
tried. 

"  I  have  heard  no  one  take  that  ground  but  the 
United  States  District  Attorney,"  said  Mr.  Grimes. 

The  gentleman  confessed  that  it  was  Attorney 
Hallett  who  had  dissuaded  him  from  acting  upon 
his  benevolent  impulse.  Without  money,  but  with 
a  promise  from  him  to  give  "  something,"  which 
was  never  redeemed,  Mr.  Grimes  left  the  house. 

He  now  bent  his  steps  toward  the  mansion  of  a 
gentleman  distinguished  for  his  immense  wealth, 
his  rare  munificence,  and  the  eminent  position  which 
he  had  formerly  held  in  the  service  of  his  country 
abroad.  Everything  conspired  to  ally  him  with 
the  conservative  class  of  society,  and  it  was  with 
them  that  public  opinion  commonly  ranked  him. 
What  view  he  would  take  of  the  passing  events 
was  uncertain.  Mr.  Grimes  found  him  in  an 
unusually  discomposed  frame  of  mind.  The  an 
nouncement  of  his  errand  at  once  called  forth  an 
emphatic  expression  of  sentiment  and  feeling.  He 
denounced  the  fugitive  slave  act  as  "  an  infamous 
statute,"  and  declared  that  he  would  have  nothing 
to  do  with  it.  It  had  been  the  cause  of  bloodshed 
and  slaughter,  and  would  be  the  cause  of  still 
more.  Referring  to  the  death  of  Batchelder,  he 
intimated  that,  as  the  man  had  been  killed  while 
voluntarily  assisting  to  execute  an  infamous  law, 


THE   ATTEMPT   TO   PURCHASE   BURNS.  65 

he  had  no  regrets  to  express  at  the  occurrence.  He 
could  give  no  money  to  purchase  the  freedom  of 
Burns,  as  that,  in  his  view,  would  be  an  implied 
sanction  of  the  law;  but,  if  Mr.  Grimes  needed  any 
money  for  his  own  uses,  he  might  draw  on  him  for 
the  required  sum,  or  even  for  a  larger  amount.1  Thus 
encouraged,  Mr.  Grimes  took  his  leave. 

A  gentleman  belonging  to  a  family  distinguished 
for  its  ability,  and  especially  for  its  devotion  to  the 
fugitive  slave  law,  was  next  applied  to.  At  once 
intimating  his  readiness  to  contribute  to  the  pro 
posed  purchase,  he  suggested  that  his  brother,  a 
wealthy  merchant,  should  be  summoned  for  the 
same  purpose.  The  latter  soon  made  his  appear 
ance  and  entered  heartily  into  the  scheme.  Each 
subscribed  one  hundred  dollars  on  condition  that 
the  whole  sum  should  be  raised.  Both  were 
urgent  in  pressing  forward  the  matter ;  "  the  man," 
said  one  of  them,  "  must  be  out  of  the  Court 
House  to-night."  If  the  sum  should  not  be  made 
up,  he  was  ready  to  increase  his  subscription. 
From  another  distinguished  citizen  the  sum  of 
fifty  dollars  was  obtained ;  he  was  the  only  mem 
ber  of  the  national  legislature  from  Massachusetts 
who  had  perilled  his  reputation  by  voting  for  the 
fugitive  slave  bill.  A  subscription  was  next  soli- 

1  The  above  was  written  while  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  was  yet  liv 
ing.  Now  that  death  has  set  his  seal  on  all  his  acts  and  opinions,  I 
need  no  longer  hesitate  to  name  him  as  the  person  alluded  to.  Let 
the  sentiments  expressed  in  the  text  go  forth  to  the  public  under 
the  sanction  of  such  a  name. 
6* 


66  ANTHONY    BURNS. 

cited  from  a  certain  rich  broker  in  State  street.  He 
had  been  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  fugitive  act ; 
on  the  occasion  of  sending  Sims  back  into  slavery 
he  had  offered  five  thousand  dollars,  if  need  were, 
to  secure  that  triumph.  Mr.  Grimes  now  found 
him  in  a  different  mood.  He  would  give  nothing 
to  purchase  Burns  —  there  would  be  no  end  to 
demands  of  that  sort ;  but  he  would  readily  con 
tribute  one  hundred  dollars,  he  said,  to  procure  a 
coat  of  tar  and  feathers  for  the  slave-catchers. 
Apparently,  his  patriotism  cost  him  nothing  on 
either  occasion.  Another  millionaire  of  the  city, 
who  enjoyed  a  reputation  for  liberality,  upon  being 
solicited  to  subscribe,  declined  on  the  ground  that 
it  would  only  furnish  an  inducement  for  slave 
holders  to  repeat  their  reclamations.  At  the  same 
time,  he  declaimed  with  great  bitterness  against  the 
law. 

Hamilton  Willis,  a  broker  in  State  street,  re 
sponded  to  the  call  with  the  most  active  sympathy. 
He  urged  Mr.  Grimes  to  obtain  pledges  for  the 
necessary  amount,  and  agreed  to  advance  the 
money  upon  those  pledges.  Another  noble  contri 
butor  was  one  who,  as  a  Trustee  of  the  Emigrant 
Aid  Society,  afterward  distinguished  himself  in 
peopling  Kansas  with  freemen.  This  was  J.  M. 
S.  Williams,  a  native  of  Virginia,  but  then  a  mer 
chant  in  Boston.  Subscribing  at  once  a  hundred 
dollars,  he  gave  assurance  that  whatever  sum  might 
be  deficient  in  the  end,  he  would  make  good. 


THE   ATTEMPT  TO   PURCHASE   BURNS.  67 

Smaller  amounts  were  subscribed  by  various  other 
persons. 

At  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  Mr.  Grimes  had 
obtained  pledges  for  eight  hundred  dollars.  Re 
pairing  to  the  office  of  the  United  States  Marshal, 
he  there,  according  to  appointment,  met  Mr.  Willis. 
The  latter  at  once  filled  up  his  cheque  for  the  eight 
hundred  dollars  and  placed  it  in  the  hands  of  the 
Marshal,  to  be  applied  toward  the  purchase  of 
Burns.  The  counsel  of  Suttle  had  also  agreed  to 
meet  Mr.  Grimes  at  the  same  time  and  place, 
but  they  failed  to  make  their  appearance.  The 
truth  was,  that,  in  the  excess  of  their  anxiety  to 
have  the  purchase  of  Burns  effected,  one  of  them 
had  undertaken  to  solicit  subscriptions  himself,  and 
was  still  absent  on  that  business. 

Again  Mr.  Grimes  went  forth,  —  this  time  in 
company  with  a  well  known  philanthropist,  —  and 
several  hours  were  spent  in  fruitless  endavors  to 
make  up  the  required  amount.  Late  in  the  even 
ing,  they  drove  to  the  Revere  House,  where  Col. 
Suttle  had  taken  rooms.  Soon  after,  the  two  gen 
tlemen  who  acted  as  his  counsel  arrived  there  also. 
One  of  them  now  informed  Mr.  Grimes  that  he 
had  called  on  the  two  brothers  already  spoken  of 
as  being  so  eager  for  the  purchase  of  Bums,  from 
one  of  whom  he  had  received  a  cheque  for  four 
hundred  dollars  additional  to  his  previous  subscrip 
tion.  This  was  a  temporary  advance,  however, 
made  for  the  purpose  of  consummating  the  trans 
action  within  the  time  prescribed  by  Col.  Suttle, 


68  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

and  to  be  refunded  on  the  following  Monday. 
The  required  sum  was  thus  completed,  and  nothing 
remained  but  to  execute  the  bill  of  sale. 

It  was  now  half-past  ten  o'clock.  Another  half 
hour  was  consumed  by  a  private  interview  between 
Suttle  and  his  counsel.  The  several  parties  then 
separated  to  meet  immediately  after,  at  the  private 
office  of  Commissioner  Loring,  with  whom  one  of 
Suttle's  counsel  had  already  made  an  arrangement 
to  draw  up  the  instrument  of  sale.  The  Commis 
sioner  soon  made  his  appearance,  and  at  once  pro 
ceeded  to  write  a  bill  of  sale,  in  these  words  : 

"  Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  I,  Charles 
F.  Suttle,  of  Alexandria  in  Virginia,  in  considera 
tion  of  twelve  hundred  dollars  to  me  paid,  do  here 
by  release  and  discharge,  quitclaim  and  convey  to 
Antony  Byrne1  his  liberty;  and  I  hereby  manu 
mit  and  release  him  from  all  claims  and  service  to 
me  forever,  hereby  giving  him  his  liberty  to  all 
intents  and  effects  forever.  In  testimony  whereof 
I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal,  this  twenty- 
seventh  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-four." 

Having  completed  this  instrument,  the  Com 
missioner  sent  a  messenger  to  Marshal  Freeman, 
requesting  his  attendance  at  the  office  of  the  former. 
The  Marshal  declined  to  comply  with  this  request. 

1  The  name  has  been  variously  spelt ;  as  the  slave  of  Col.  Suttle 
he  was  probably  known  by  the  name  given  in  the  bill  of  sale.  But 
by  his  baptism  of  suffering  he  took  the  name  of  Anthony  Burns, 
and  under  that  designation  entered  upon  his  new  life  of  freedom. 


THE   ATTEMPT   TO    PURCHASE   BURNS.  69 

Mr.  Loring  then  gathered  up  his  papers,  and,  with 
the  other  parties,  proceeded  to  the  Marshal's  office, 
where  they  found  that  official  in  company  with 
District  Attorney  Hallett.  He  at  once  began  to 
confer  with  the  Marshal  concerning  the  purchase 
of  Burns,  when  Hallett  interposed  and  strenuously 
objected  to  the  transaction.  He  maintained  that 
if  Burns  were,  by  purchase,  taken  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  United  States  officers,  before  the  examination 
were  concluded,  nobody  would  be  responsible  for 
the  expenses  already  incurred ;  and  he  took  it  upon 
him  to  add  that  the  Government  would  not  defray 
them.  To  this  the  Commissioner  replied  by 
reading  a  portion  of  the  fugitive  slave  act.  That, 
he  contended,  made  the  Government  responsible 
for  the  expenses ;  by  the  sale,  Suttle  would  obtain 
an  equivalent  for  his  slave,  and  thus  the  law  would 
be  substantially  enforced.  This  absurd  objection 
having  been  thus  silenced,  the  District  Attorney 
was  ready  with  another.  There  was,  he  said,  an 
existing  law  of  Massachusetts,  which  prohibited 
such  a  transaction.  The  Commissioner  promptly 
replied  that  the  law  referred  to  was  not  applicable 
to  the  case  in  hand ;  that  it  was  a  law  aimed  not 
against  selling  a  man  into  freedom,  but  against 
selling  him  into  slavery.1  As  Mr.  Hallett  was  not 

1  The  statute  referred  to,  I  presume,  was  this  :  "  Every  person  who 
shall  sell,  or  in  any  manner  transfer  for  any  term,  the  service  or  labor 
of  any  negro,  mulatto,  or  other  person  of  color  who  shall  have  been 
unlawfully  seized,  taken,  inveigled,  or  kidnapped  from  this  State  to 
any  other  State,  place,  or  country,  shall  be  punished  by  imprison- 


70  ANTHONY    BURNS. 

required  to  be  a  party  to  the  transaction,  his  concern 
on  this  point  seemed  to  be  somewhat  gratuitous. 
Failing  to  produce  conviction  by  arguments  of  this 
character,  as  a  last  resort  he  urged  that  the  sale,  if 
effected  then,  would  not  be  legal,  as  the  Sabbath 
had  already  commenced.  Glancing  toward  the 
clock,  the  Commissioner  saw  that  the  minute-hand 
pointed  to  a  quarter  past  twelve.  He  ceased  to 
urge  the  point  further,  and,  turning  to  Mr.  Grimes, 
said :  "  It  can  be  done  at  eight  o'clock  on  Monday 
morning  —  come  to  my  office  then,  and  it  can  be 
settled  in  five  minutes."  The  negotiations  were 
then  broken  off. 

Mr.  Grimes  turned  away  in  deep  disappoint 
ment.  So  confident  was  he  of  success,  that  he  had 
a  carriage  in  waiting  at  the  door  of  the  Court  House 
to  bear  Burns  away  as  a  freeman.  The  prisoner 
had  been  apprised  of  the  movement  in  his  behalf, 
and  with  feverish  interest  was  momently  waiting 
for  his  release.  Mr.  Grimes  now  asked  permission 
to  communicate  to  him  the  result  of  the  negoti 
ations,  and  thus  relieve  him  of  a  most  painful  sus 
pense  ;  but  the  Marshal  refused  his  consent,  at  the 
same  time  charging  himself  with  the  duty. 

As  the  Sabbath  wore  on,  rumors  spread  through 
the  city  that  dispatches  unfavorable  to  the  release 
of  the  prisoner  had  been  received  from  the  Federal 

ment  in  the  State  Prison  not  more  than  ten  years,  or  by  a  fine  not 
exceeding  one  thousand  dollars  and  imprisonment  in  the  county 
jail  not  more  than  two  years." — Revised  Statutes  of  Massachusetts, 
Chap.  125,  Sec.  20. 


THE   ATTEMPT   TO    PURCHASE   BURNS.  71 

Government.  Full  of  fears,  Mi.  Grimes  sought 
an  interview,  at  evening,  with  the  Commissioner, 
at  his  private  residence.  The  latter  endeavored  to 
re-assure  him.  Col.  Suttle,  he  still  felt  confident, 
would  abide  by  his  agreement.  "But  if  he  fails 
to,"  said  the  Commissioner,  "  and  the  counsel  for 
the  defence  can  raise  a  single  doubt,  Burns  shall 
walk  out  of  the  Court  House  a  free  man."  He 
closed  the  interview  by  renewing  the  appointment 
to  meet  at  eight  o'clock,  the  next  morning,  for  com 
pleting  the  purchase. 

Punctual  at  the  hour,  Mr.  Grimes  repaired  to 
the  Commissioner's  office,  but  the  latter  failed  to 
appear.  After  waiting  an  hour,  he  went  in  pursuit 
of  the  delinquent  functionary,  but  without  success. 
He  then  sought  Col.  Suttle  and  his  counsel  at  the 
Revere  House;  they  were  not  there.  At  length 
he  found  them,  together  with  Brent,  Hallett,  and  the 
Marshal,  assembled  in  the  office  of  the  latter.  Re 
minding  them  of  the  appointment  they  had  broken, 
he  announced  his  readiness  to  complete  the  con 
tract  which  had  already  been  verbally  made.  Then 
Col.  Suttle  proceeded  to  vindicate  his  Virginian 
honor.  As  the  bargain  had  not  been  completed  on 
Saturday  night,  he  said  he  should  now  decline  to 
sell  Bums ;  the  trial  must  go  on. 

"After  Burns  gets  back  to  Virginia,"  he  gra 
ciously  added,  "  you  can  then  have  him." 

In  vain  Mr.  Grimes  urged  that  the  failure  on 
Saturday  night  occurred  through  no  fault  of  his. 
Mr.  Hallett  here  interrupted  him. 


72  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

"  No,"  said  he,  "  when  Burns  has  been  tried  and 
carried  back  to  Virginia  and  the  law  executed,  you 
can  buy  him ;  and  then  I  will  pay  one  hundred 
dollars  towards  his  purchase." 

Mr.  Grimes  insisted  that  by  agreement  the  man 
was  already  his.  The  District  Attorney  then  said : 

"  The  laws  of  the  land  cannot  be  trampled 
upon.  A  man  has  been  killed;  that  blood"  — 
pointing  to  the  spot  in  the  Marshal's  office 
where  Batchelder  had  breathed  his  last  —  "must 
be  atoned  for."  Mr.  Hallett  thus  assumed  a  re 
sponsibility  from  which  he  afterward,  through 
the  public  press,  vainly  endeavored  to  escape. 

Baffled  and  despondent,  Mr.  Grimes  turned 
away  and  sought  those  who  had  subscribed  to  the 
purchase  fund.  He  first  met  that  supporter  of  the 
fugitive  slave  act  who  had  manifested  such  anxiety 
for  the  release  of  Burns  on  Saturday,  and  who  had 
subscribed  a  hundred  dollars.  "  If  the  man  is  to 
be  tried,"  said  this  subscriber,  "  I  refuse  to  give  a 
cent  for  his  purchase;  I  would  rather  give  five 
hundred  dollars  than  have  the  trial  go  on."  It  was 
not  the  well-being  of  the  slave  that  he  sought ;  it 
was  to  save  Boston  from  the  ignominy  arising  from 
the  execution  of  the  fugitive  slave  act.  Other  sub 
scribers  took  substantially  the  same  position,  and 
thus  the  subscription  fell  to  the  ground.  Some 
further  attempts  to  effect  the  purchase  were  made, 
in  which  the  philanthropic  broker,  Mr.  Willis,  bore 
the  principal  share.  The  story  of  his  efforts  and 
their  result  is  best  given  in  his  own  words. 


THE  ATTEMPT  TO   PURCHASE  BURNS.  13 

"  Tuesday  morning,"  he  writes,  "  I  had  an  inter 
view  with  Col.  Suttle  in  the  United  States  Mar 
shal's  office.  He  seemed  disposed  to  listen  to  me, 
and  met  the  subject  in  a  manly  way.  He  said  he 
wished  to  take  the  boy  [Burns]  back,  after  which 
he  would  sell  him.  He  wanted  to  see  the  result  of 
the  trial  at  any  rate.  I  stated  to  him  that  we  consid 
ered  his  claim  to  Burns  clear  enough,  and  that  he 
would  be  delivered  over  to  him,  urging  particularly 
upon  him  that  the  boy's  liberation  was  not  sought 
for  except  with  his  free  consent,  and  his  claim 
being  fully  satisfied.  I  urged  upon  him  no  con 
sideration  of  the  fear  of  a  rescue,  or  possible  unfa 
vorable  result  of  the  trial  to  him,  but  offered 
distinctly,  if  he  chose,  to  have  the  trial  proceed,  and 
whatever  might  be  the  result,  still  to  satisfy  his 
claim.  I  stated  to  him  that  the  negotiation  was 
not  sustained  by  any  society  or  association  what 
soever,  but  that  it  was  done  by  some  of  our  most 
respectable  citizens,  who  were  desirous  not  to 
obstruct  the  operation  of  the  law,  but  in  a  peaceable 
and  honorable  manner  sought  an  adjustment  of 
this  unpleasant  case ;  assuring  him  that  this  feeling 
was  general  among  the  people.  I  read  to  him  a 
letter  addressed  to  me  by  a  highly  esteemed  citizen, 
urging  me  to  renew  my  efforts  to  accomplish  this, 
and  placing  at  my  disposal  any  amount  of  money 
that  I  might  deem  necessary  for  the  purpose. 

"  Col.  Suttle  replied  that  he  appreciated  our 
motives,  and  that  he  felt  disposed  to  meet  us.  He 
then  stated  what  he  would  do.  I  accepted  his 


74  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

proposal  at  once;  it  was  not  entirely  satisfactory 
to  me,  but  yet,  in  view  of  his  position  as  he 
declared  to  me,  I  was  content.  At  my  request,  he 
was  about  to  commit  our  agreement  to  writing, 
when  Mr.  B.  F.  Hallett  entered  the  office,  and 
they  two  engaged  in  conversation  apart  from  me. 
Presently  Col.  Suttle  returned  to  me,  and  said  '  I 
must  withdraw  what  I  have  done  with  you.'  We 
both  immediately  approached  Mr.  Hallett,  who 
said,  pointing  to  the  spot  where  Mr.  Batchelder 
fell,  in  sight  of  which  we  stood,  — '  That  blood 
must  be  avenged.'  I  made  some  pertinent  reply, 
rebuking  so  extraordinary  a  speech,  and  left  the 
room. 

"  On  Friday  (June  2d),  soon  after  the  decision 
had  been  rendered,  finding  Col.  Suttle  had  gone  on 
board  the  cutter  [which  was  to  carry  Burns  back 
to  Virginia]  at  an  early  hour,  I  waited  upon  his 
counsel  at  the  Court  House,  and  there  renewed 
my  proposition.  Both  these  gentlemen  promptly 
interested  themselves  in  my  purpose,  which  was 
to  tender  the  claimant  full  satisfaction,  and  receive 
the  surrender  of  Burns  from  him,  either  there,  in 
State  street,  or  on  board  the  revenue  cutter,  at  his 
own  option.  It  was  arranged  between  us  that  Mr. 
Parker  [junior  counsel  for  Suttle]  should  go  at 
once  on  board  the  cutter  and  make  an  arrange 
ment,  if  possible,  with  the  Colonel.  I  provided 
ample  funds,  and  returned  immediately  to  the 
Court  House,  when  I  found  that  there  would  be 
difficulty  in  getting  on  board  the  cutter.  Applica- 


THE  ATTEMPT  TO   PURCHASE   BURNS.  75 

tion  was  made  by  me  to  the  Marshal ;  he  inter 
posed  no  objection,  and  I  offered  to  place  Mr. 
Parker  alongside  the  vessel.  Presently  Mr.  Parkei 
took  me  aside,  and  said  these  words :  *  Col.  Suttle 
has  pledged  himself  to  Mr.  Hallett  that  he  will  not 
sell  his  boy  until  he  gets  him  home.  Thus  the 
matter  ended." l 

When  Burns  was  fairly  out  to  sea,  on  his  way 
back  to  Virginia,  and  beyond  the  reach  of  imme 
diate  aid,  the  officers  of  the  division  of  Massachu 
setts  militia  that  had  assisted  in  enforcing  his  ren 
dition,  also  made  an  effort  toward  procuring  his 
emancipation.  Assembling  at  one  of  their  wara 
houses,  they  formally  organized  themselves  into  a 
meeting,  and  unanimously  raised  a  committee  to 
obtain  funds  for  the  purchase  of  Burns.  Their 
purpose  took  a  still  more  definite  shape  :  jealous 
for  the  honor  of  their  military  body,  they  voted 
that  the  subscription  should  be  strictly  confined  to 
the  officers  and  members  of  their  division.  Un 
happily,  this  was  the  end,  as  well  as  the  beginning, 
of  their  efforts.  The  cause  of  the  failure,  as  after 
wards  assigned  by  some  of  their  number,  was  the 
severe  criticism  with  which  their  participation  in 
the  surrender  had  been  treated  by  the  public  press. 
Finding  that  the  proposed  benefaction  was  not 
likely  to  efface  from  the  public  mind  the  remem- 

1  Letter  of  Hamilton  Willis,  addressed  to  the  Editors  of  the  Boston 
Atlas  and  published  in  that  journal,  June  5,  1854,  in  reply  to  Mr, 
Hallett's  public  denial  of  the  charge  that  he  had  interfered  to  pre 
vent  the  purchase  of  Burns. 


76  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

branee  of  their  previous  official  conduct,  they 
abandoned  their  purpose  and  prudently  reserved 
their  money. 

In  time,  news  reached  Boston  that  Burns  had 
arrived  in  Virginia.  The  law  had  been  executed, 
the  point  of  honor  had  been  satisfied,  Slavery  had 
its  own  again.  Negotiations  were  once  more  re 
newed.  At  the  request  of  Mr.  Grimes,  Mr.  Willis 
addressed  a  letter  to  Col.  Suttle  on  the  subject. 
The  reply  of  the  latter  is  entitled  to  a  place  in  this 
history. 

"  I  have  had  much  difficulty  in  my  own  mind/'  he 
writes,  "  as  to  the  course  I  ought  to  pursue  about 
the  sale  of  my  man,  Anthony  Burns,  to  the  North. 
Such  a  sale  is  objected  to  strongly  by  my  friends, 
and  by  the  people  of  Virginia  generally,  upon  the 
ground  of  its  pernicious  character,  inviting  our 
negroes  to  attempt  their  escape  under  the  assurance 
that,  if  arrested  and  remanded,  still  the  money 
would  be  raised  to  purchase  their  freedom.  As  a 
southern  man  and  a  slave-owner,  I  feel  the  force 
of  this  objection  and  clearly  see  the  mischief  that 
may  result  from  disregarding  it.  Still,  I  feel  no 
little  attachment  to  Anthony,  which  his  late  elope 
ment,  [with]  the  vexation  and  expense  to  which  I 
have  been  put,  has  not  removed  ;  and  I  confess  to 
some  disposition  to  see  the  experiment  tried  of  bet 
tering  his  condition. 

"  I  understand  the  application  now  made  to 
purchase  his  freedom,  does  not  come  from  the 
abolitionists  and  incendiaries  who  put  the  laws  of 


THE   ATTEMPT   TO    PURCHASE   BURNS.  77 

the  Union  at  defiance,  and  dyed  their  hands  in  the 
blood  of  Batchelder,  but  from  those  who  struggled 
to  maintain  law  and  order. 

"  Now  that  the  laws  have  been  fully  vindicated 
(although  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet)  and  Anthony 
returned  to  the  city  of  Richmond,  from  which  he 
escaped ;  and  believing  that  it  would  materially 
strengthen  the  Federal  Officers  and  facilitate  the 
execution  of  the  laws  in  any  future  case  which 
might  arise,  and  influenced  by  other  considerations 
to  which  I  have  referred,  I  have  concluded  to  sell 
him  his  freedom  for  the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred 
dollars. 

"  When  in  Boston,  acting  under  the  extra 
ordinary  counsel  of  Mr.  Parker,  one  of  my  lawyers, 
I  agreed  to  take  twelve  hundred  dollars  if  paid  at 
a  fixed  period.  The  money  was  not  forthcoming 
at  the  time  agreed  upon,1  and  I  then,  being  better 
advised,  determined  the  law  should  take  its  course. 

"  By  the  course  pursued  of  violent,  corrupt,  and 
perjured  opposition  to  my  rights,  the  case  was  pro 
tracted  for  days  after  my  offer  to  take  twelve  hun 
dred  dollars  ;  consequently  my  expenses  were 
generally  increased,  I  presume  materially  so  to  my 
attorneys,  to  whom  I  paid  from  my  private  purse 
four  hundred  dollars.2 

1  This  was  not  true,  as  the  narrative  in  the  former  part  of  this 
chapter  shows. 

2  The  excuse  which  Col.  Suttle  here  presents  for  his  exorbitant 
demand  for  Burns  will  hardly  stand  a  severe  scrutiny.     According 
to  his  own  admission,  he  had  agreed  to  accept  twelve  hundred  dol 
lars.     Afterward,  acting  under  "better  advice,"  he  withdrew  his 


78  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

"  Now,  as  I  am  not  a  man  of  wealth,  and  I  am 
f)ound  to  have  a  moderate  regard  for  my  private 
interest,  it  will  readily  be  seen  that  twelve  hundred 
dollars  at  the  time  I  agreed  to  take  it,  would  have 
been  better  for  me  than  fifteen  hundred  now. 

"  In  reply  to  your  question  about  his  (Burns,) 
character,  I  have  to  say  that  I  regard  him  as  strictly 
honest,  sober,  and  truthful.  Let  me  hear  from  you 
without  delay.  If  you  accede  to  my  terms,  I  will, 
on  receipt  of  the  money,  deliver  him  in  the  city  of 
Washington  with  his  free  papers,  or  I  will  send 
him  by  one  of  the  steamers  from  Richmond  to 
New  York." 

With  this  new  proposition,  the  indefatigable 
pastor,  Grimes,  sought  first  of  all  Mr.  Hallett,  and, 
informing  him  of  its  nature,  plainly  told  the  attorney 
that,  as  he  was  the  only  one  who  had  hindered  the 
purchase  of  Burns  at  twelve  hundred  dollars,  he 
alone  ought  to  bear  the  burden  of  the  excess  now 
demanded  over  that  sum.  Hallett  refused  to  grace 
himself  by  such  an  act  of  justice,  but,  nevertheless, 
declared  his  willingness  to  give  a  hundred  dollars 
toward  the  sum  required.  Col.  Suttle's  proposition 
was  next  laid  before  the  persons  who  had  acted  as 

offer  for  the  purpose  of  letting  the  law  take  its  course.  The  law 
did  take  its  course,  and  an  increase  of  his  expenses  was  the  natural 
result.  The  proposed  purchasers  were  anxious  to  have  him  take  a 
step  that  would  diminish  his  expenses ;  he  insisted  on  pursuing  a 
course  which  he  knew  would  increase  them,  and  then,  because  they 
were  increased,  required  that  the  purchasers  should  bear  the  burden. 
It  furnishes  some  relief  to  one's  sense  of  justice  to  know  that  he 
was  afterwards  obliged  to  go  farther  and  fare  worse. 


THE  ATTEMPT  TO  PURCHASE  BURNS.  79 

his  counsel.  They  addressed  a  letter  to  him,  de 
claring  it  as  their  opinion  that  he  was  bound  to 
accept  twelve  hundred  dollars  for  Burns  ;  but 
nothing  came  of  this  remonstrance.  Mr.  Grimes 
then  applied  to  the  original  subscribers  to  the 
twelve  hundred  dollar  fund.  Most  of  them  were 
ready  to  renew  their  pledges,  provided  Burns  could 
be  purchased  for  that  amount ;  but  they  absolutely 
refused  to  give  anything  if  a  higher  sum  were  in 
sisted  on.  Col.  Suttle  was  then  informed  by  Mr. 
Grimes  that  he  could  still  have  the  twelve  hundred 
dollars,  but  nothing  more.  To  this  no  answer  was 
ever  returned,  and  for  the  time  all  efforts  to  ransom 
Burns  were  at  an  end. 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE   EXAMINATION. 

THE  examination  in  due  form  commenced  on 
Monday,  the  twenty-ninth  of  May.  Court  Square 
presented  on  that  morning  a  strange  and  alarming 
scene  in  free  Massachusetts.  There  was  nothing 
to  indicate  that  a  solemn  judicial  proceeding 
was  about  to  take  place.  The  Court  House,  an 
immense  pile  of  stone,  resembling,  in  its  massive 
strength,  a  donjon  keep  of  the  middle  ages,  wore 
the  air  of  a  beleaguered  fortress.  At  the  windows 
in  different  stories  of  the  building,  the  mingled 
soldiery  of  Massachusetts  and  of  the  United  States 
presented  themselves,  with  firearms,  as  at  the 
embrasures  of  a  rampart.  Below,  a  vast  throng  of 
citizens,  which  had  been  constantly  increasing  from 
early  dawn,  surged  around  the  base  of  the  building 
and  through  the  spacious  Square  in  unappeasable 
excitement.  All  the  outer  entrances  of  the  Court 
House  had  been  securely  closed,  except  one  at 
which  was  stationed  a  strong  force  of  the  police. 
Even  here,  none  were  allowed  to  enter  but  the 
functionaries,  the  reporters  for  the  press,  and  a  few 
citizens  who,  by  special  favor,  had  obtained  per- 

(80) 


THE   EXAMINATION.  81 

mits  from  the  Marshal.1  Once  within  the  walls, 
it  was  not  certain  that  the  adventurous  citizen 
would  be  able  to  make  his  way  to  the  tribunal. 
At  the  foot  of  the  stairs  leading  to  the  court-room, 
files  of  soldiers  barred  the  passage  with  their  mus 
kets,  and  raised  them  only  at  the  nod  of  a  custom 
house  officer  deputed  for  the  service.  On  the  first 
landing-place  were  stationed  more  soldiers  with 
fixed  bayonets,  and  others  still,  at  the  head  of  the 
stairs.  So  strictly  was  the  guard  maintained,  that 
those  who  had  passed  the  first  sentries  were,  in 
some  instances,  arrested  and  detained  upon  the 
stairway  by  the  last.  And  not  until  the  last 
moment  before  the  opening  of  the  court,  were  any 
except  the  officials,  allowed  to  pass.  Never  before, 
in  the  history  of  Massachusetts,  had  the  avenues 
to  a  tribunal  of  justice  been  so  obstructed  by  ser 
ried  bayonets  borne  in  the  hands  of  an  alien  and 
mercenary  soldiery. 

The  court-room  was  not  spacious,  but  it  more 
than  sufficed  to  contain  those  who  were  suffered  to 
enter  it.  Many  seats  remained  vacant  as  silent 
witnesses  to  the  excessive  fears  of  those  who  had 
enlisted  in  this  enterprise  against  the  popular  feel- 

1  In  some  instances,  citizens  of  Massachusetts  were  excluded,  while 
citizens  of  southern  states  were  readily  admitted.  Charles  G.  Dayis, 
Esq.,  of  Plymouth,  a  well  known  lawyer,  applied  for  admission  in 
company  with  a  friend.  The  latter  was  allowed  to  pass,  on  being 
introduced  as  "  a  gentleman  from  Washington,  D.  C. ; "  but  Mr. 
Davis  was  kept  out,  and  furthermore,  was  told  by  the  underlings 
that  they  had  orders  to  exclude  him  and  all  other  "free-soilers.' 
As  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Bar  he  had  a  right  to  enter. 


82  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

ing.  Of  those  who  were  present,  the  most  con 
spicuous,  if  not  the  most  numerous  portion,  were 
pimps  and  bullies,  whose  vile  passions  and  brutal 
natures  had  left  a  permanent  impress  upon  their 
persons.  Some  of  them,  now  appearing  as  officers 
of  justice,  were  convicted  criminals  and  had  served 
out  their  sentence  in  the  prisons.  These  carried  it 
boldly,  as  though  they  had  been  presented  with  the 
freedom  of  the  court-room ;  while  the  few  good 
citizens  present,  —  some,  men  of  substance,  and 
some,  men  of  renown,  —  took  their  seats  quietly 
as  being  conscious  that  they  were  there  on  suffer 
ance.  Nothing,  perhaps,  more  clearly  revealed  the 
nature  of  the  business  in  hand  than  the  fact  that 
the  Marshal  was  compelled  to  rely  for  aid,  chiefly, 
on  the  most  depraved  class  of  men  in  the  commu 
nity. 

At  length  the  court  was  opened.  Alone,  upon 
the  bench  from  which  Judge  Story  had  been  wont 
to  dispense  justice,  sat  the  Commissioner,  evidently 
oppressed  by  the  load  which  he  had  chosen  to  take 
upon  himself.  In  his  appropriate  place  on  the 
right  stood  the  Marshal,  Watson  Freeman,  in 
whose  massy  face,  seamed  by  small  pox,  a  certain 
look  of  good  humor  somewhat  modified  the  pre 
vailing  relentlessness  of  its  aspect.  Over  against 
the  Commissioner,  upon  a  seat  just  without  the 
bar,  sat  Anthony  Burns.  On  either  side  of  him, 
as  guards,  sat  two  or  three  brutal-looking  men,  and 
in  front  of  him,  just  within  the  bar,  were  four  or 
five  more,  with  pistols  and  bludgeons  lurking  in 


THE   EXAMINATION.  83 

their  pockets  and  but  half  concealed  from  the 
offended  eyes  of  the  spectators.  At  the  clerk's 
desk,  apart,  sat  the  United  States  District  Attorney, 
Benjamin  F.  Hallett,  whose  business  there  did  not 
clearly  appear.  The  counsel  for  the  slaveholder 
and  the  slave  respectively,  the  reporters  for  the 
press,  the  slaveholder  and  his  southern  friends, 
Theodore  Parker,  the  Rev.  L.  A.  Grimes,  Morris, 
the  colored  lawyer  of  Boston,  and  some  few  others 
occupied  the  seats  within  the  bar ;  while  a  moder 
ate  number  outside  completed  the  assemblage. 

The  first  incident  in  the  proceedings  illustrated 
the  character  of  the  tribunal.  Charles  M.  Ellis, 
the  junior  counsel  for  Burns,  began  with  a  protest 
against  proceeding  in  the  case  under  the  extraor 
dinary  circumstances  of  the  occasion. 

"  It  is  not  fit,"  said  he,  "  that  we  should  proceed 
while  counsel  here  (meaning  the  counsel  for  Suttle) 
bear  arms.  It  is  not  fit  that  the  prisoner  should 
sit  here  with  shackles  on  his  limbs.  It  is  not  fit 
that  we  should  proceed  while  the  court-room  is 
packed  with  armed  men,  and  all  the  avenues  to  it 
are  filled  with  soldiery,  making  it  difficult  for  the 
friends  of  the  prisoner  to  obtain  access  to  him.  1 
protest  against  proceeding  under  these  circum 
stances." 

"  The  examination  must  proceed,"  was  the 
prompt  response  of  the  Commissioner.  But  Mr. 
Hallett,  whose  offensive  and  unexplained  presence 
within  the  bar  has  already  been  alluded  to,  now 
joined  issue,  and  proceeded  to  harangue  the  Com- 


84  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

missioner  in  reply  to  what  had  been  said.  The 
Commissioner,  immediately  interrupting,  reminded 
him  that,  as  he  had  already  decided  the  point,  any 
further  remarks  were  unnecessary.  The  District 
Attorney  persisted.  The  conduct  of  the  Marshal, 
he  said,  had  been  called  in  question,  and  he  was 
present  to  act  as  his  counsel.  Again  the  Commis 
sioner  interposed :  "  Mr.  Hallett,  these  remarks 
are  irrelevant  and  entirely  out  of  order."  But  the 
Attorney,  without  even  pausing  in  his  speech,  went 
on  with  raised  voice,  inflamed  countenance,  and 
increased  vehemence  of  manner,  not  only  to  repel 
the  reflections  that  had  been  cast  upon  the  Marshal, 
but  also  to  instruct  the  Commissioner  in  his  own 
duty.  Insolence  triumphed,  and  the  Commissioner 
sank  back  in  his  seat  with  a  helpless  air,  until  the 
browbeating  was  ended.  Men  who  had  been 
wont  to  see  the  Bench  treated  with  the  profoundest 
respect  by  the  Bar,  who  had  known  Daniel  Web 
ster  bow  in  silence  and  resume  his  seat  at  the  bid 
ding  of  a  common  pleas  judge,  looked  on  indig 
nant  and  amazed.  Why  was  not  the  Attorney 
ordered  into  instant  custody  ?  Had  the  Court  no 
power  to  protect  itself? 

Another  incident,  that  occurred  at  a  later  stage 
of  the  examination,  furnished  an  answer  to  this 
question.  In  attempting  to  return  to  the  court 
room,  after  one  of  the  short  recesses  that  were 
reluctantly  granted,  Mr.  Dana,  the  senior  counsel 
for  Burns,  found  his  progress  obstructed  by  the 
bayonets  of  the  guard.  In  vain  he  urged  his  well 


THE    EXAMINATION.  85 

known  relation  to  the  prisoner ;  he  was  kept  wait 
ing  upon  the  stairs  until  it  was  the  pleasure  of  the 
Marshal  to  permit  him  to  pass  on.  The  outrage 
was  made  known  to  the  Commissioner,  and  he 
was  moved  to  instruct  the  Marshal  upon  the  sub 
ject.  "  I  have  no  authority  to  direct  the  actions  of 
the  Marshal,"  was  the  short  but  pregnant  answer, 
while  that  officer  stood  grimly  smiling  upon  the 
foiled  advocate  of  Freedom.  The  Marshal  did 
not  sustain  the  relation  of  a  sheriff  to  a  justiciary 
court ;  he  was  in  no  wise  amenable  to  the  Com 
missioner.  He  might  surround  the  court-room 
with  soldiery,  admit  or  exclude  whom  he  pleased, 
subject  one  party  in  the  suit  to  personal  outrages 
and  bestow  special  indulgences  on  the  other,  and 
there  was  no  one  to  call  him  to  account.  The 
Commissioner  was  not  supreme  in  his  own  court. 
Under  this  confessed  state  of  things,  the  examina 
tion  went  forward. 

The  case  of  the  claimant  had  already  been  pre 
sented,  while  as  yet  Anthony  had  no  one  to  defend 
him ;  but  now,  upon  the  demand  of  his  counsel, 
the  Commissioner  ordered  that  the  examination 
should  commence  anew.  The  complaint  was  read 
by  Edward  G.  Parker,  the  junior  counsel  for  the 
claimant.  William  Brent  was  then  placed  upon 
the  stand.  It  appeared  that  he  was  a  slaveholding 
grocer  of  Richmond,  Virginia.  He  testified  that 
he  was  the  personal  friend  of  Col.  Suttle,  and  had 
long  been  acquainted  with  him.  He  had  known 
him  as  a  slaveholder,  and  as  the  owner  of  a  slave 

8 


86  ANTHONY    BURNS. 

named  Anthony  Burns.  He  had  himself  hired 
Anthony  of  Suttle  for  three  years,  and  had  also 
acted  as  the  latter's  agent  in  hiring  him  out  to  one 
Millspaugh.  In  this  way  he  had  come  to  have 
intimate  personal  knowledge  of  Suttle's  ownership 
of  Burns,  and  also  of  Burns'  personal  appearance. 
He  now  stated  that  the  prisoner  was  the  same 
Anthony  Burns  whom  he  had  so  well  known  in 
Virginia.  He  further  said  that  he  had  last  seen 
Anthony  in  that  State  on  the  twentieth  of  March, 
1854 ;  on  the  twenty-fourth,  Anthony  was  missing, 
and  on  the  Tuesday  following,  he  communicated 
the  fact  to  Col.  Suttle,  who  was  then  residing  in 
Alexandria.  But  of  the  manner  in  which  Burns 
left  Virginia  he  knew  nothing. 

The  counsel  for  the  claimant  now  proposed  to 
put  in,  as  evidence,  the  admissions  which  Anthony 
had  made  since  his  arrest. 

"  We  object,"  said  Mr.  Ellis;  "the  sixth  section 
of  the  fugitive  slave  law  provides  that  the  evi 
dence  of  the  alleged  fugitive  shall  not  be  taken." 

"  The  admissions  and  confessions  of  Burns  are 
a  very  different  thing  from  testimony,"  replied  Seth 
J.  Thomas,  the  claimant's  senior  counsel;  "as  a 
party  in  the  suit  —  the  defendant  —  he  is  not  priv 
ileged  to  testify." 

"  It  is  the  height  of  cruelty  to  the  prisoner," 
urged  Mr.  Dana,  "  to  take  advantage  of  the  only 
power  he  has  under  this  law  —  that  of  speech  — 
to  his  detriment,  when  the  claimant,  the  other  party 


THE   EXAMINATION.  87 

in  the  suit,  has  not  only  his  own  right,  but,  in  these 
alleged  confessions,  a  portion  of  the  prisoner's." 

On  the  decision  of  this  question,  as  the  result 
proved,  hung  the  fate  of  Anthony  Burns.  Even 
at  this  early  stage  of  the  proceedings,  before  the 
nature  of  the  defence  was  known,  the  important 
bearing  of  the  point  was  discerned.  A  breathless 
silence  reigned  in  the  court-room. 

"  I  think,"  said  the  Commissioner,  "  that  the 
word  'testimony,'  in  the  law,  must  be  regarded  as 
referring  to  evidence  given  by  a  witness,  and  not 
to  confessions  or  admissions ;  but  I  am  unwilling 
to  prejudice  the  liberty  of  the  prisoner,  and  his 
counsel  may  have  the  right  to  pass  that  question 
for  the  present" 

"  We  desire  that  the  questions  may  be  asked 
and  the  answers  taken  down  for  future  use,  if  ne 
cessary,"  said  the  claimant's  counsel. 

The  Court  assented,  and  the  witness  proceeded 
to  relate  the  conversation  that  took  place,  as  fol 
lows  :  "  Burns  said  he  did  not  intend  to  run  away, 
but  being  at  work  on  board  a  vessel,  and  getting 
tired,  fell  asleep,  when  the  vessel  sailed  with  him 
on  board.  On  Mr.  Suttle's  going  into  the  room 
after  the  arrest,  the  first  word  from  Burns  was, 
'  How  do  you  do,  Master  Charles  ? '  The  next 
thing  was,  *  Did  I  ever  whip  you,  Anthony?'  The 
answer  was,  <  No.'  The  next  question  was,  '  Did 
I  ever  hire  you  where  you  did  not  want  to  go  ? ' 
The  reply  was,  '  No.'  The  next  question  was, 
'  Did  you  ever  ask  me  for  money  when  it  was  not 


ANTHONY   BURNS. 

given  you  ?  The  answer  was,  *  No.'  Mr.  Suttle 
then  asked,  '  Did  I  not,  when  you  were  sick,  take 
my  bed  from  my  own  house  for  you  ?  '  and  the 
answer  was,  '  Yes.'  He  then  recognized  me,  and 
said,  '  How  do  you  do,  Master  William  ?  '  Being 
asked  substantially  if  he  was  willing  to  go  back, 
he  said  he  was." l 

With  some  further  unimportant  details,  the  ex 
amination  in  chief  was  ended.  A  close  cross- 
examination  followed,  but  failed  to  elicit  any  ad 
ditional  evidence  materially  affecting  the  case. 
Throughout,  the  testimony  of  this  witness  was 
direct  and  unequivocal,  and  was  delivered  with  an 
air  of  careless  superiority,  which  was  natural  to  a 
slaveholder  testifying  against  a  slave,  and  was  not 
uncongenial  to  the  peculiar  tribunal  in  whose  char 
acter  there  was  nothing  to  overawe. 

In  giving  in  his  testimony,  the  witness  spoke  of 
Burns  and  his  relatives  as  "  slaves."  The  counsel 
for  Burns  objected  to  this  term.  "  The  witness 
must  not  state  any  person  to  be  a  slave,"  said 
the  Commissioner,  "  without  corroborative  legal 
evidence."  This  instruction  from  the  Court  caused 

1  The  important  discrepancies  between  this  statement  of  the  con 
versation  and  that  given  on  pp.  18,  19,  chap.  I.,  will  be  apparent 
at  a  glance.  That  statement  was  taken  down  from  the  lips  of  Burns 
by  the  author  of  this  work.  Burns  emphatically  denied  the  correct 
ness  of  Brent's  report  of  the  conversation,  and  declared  his  readiness 
to  make  oath  to  the  correctness  of  his  own.  As  Col.  Suttle  stated 
in  writing  over  his  own  signature,  after  he  had  re  turned  to  Virginia 
with  his  recovered  property,  that  he  continued  to  regard  Burns  as 
"  strictly  truthful,"  the  reader  will  have  at  least  his  sanction  for  be 
lieving  the  statement  of  Burns  in  preference  to  that  of  Brent. 


THE   EXAMINATION.  89 

not  a  little  embarrassment  to  the  witness.  The 
habits  of  a  Virginia  slaveholder  were  inveterate 
upon  him,  and  he  found  it  difficult  to  extemporise 
forms  of  speech  suited  to  the  latitude  of  a  free  state 
and  to  the  ears  of  a  free  people. 

One,  Caleb  Page,  a  Boston  truckman,  was  next 
called  to  corroborate  Brent's  testimony  respecting 
the  admissions  of  Burns  on  the  night  of  the  arrest. 
He  had  assisted  in  arresting  the  prisoner,  and,  ac 
cording  to  his  own  statement,  was  "just  the  man 
wanted  "  by  the  officer  for  that  business.  His  tes 
timony  added  nothing  to  the  strength  of  the 
claimant's  case,  and  he  had  little  reason  to  thank 
his  employers  for  uselessly  dragging  him  forth  from 
obscurity  to  become  an  object  of  odium  to  his  fel 
low  citizens. 

"  We  now  propose,"  said  the  claimant's  counsel, 
"  to  put  in  the  record  of  the  court  of  Virginia  as 
evidence." 

"  It  is  in  the  case,"  said  the  Commissioner, 
"  subject  to  objection  from  counsel." 

The  counsel  for  the  defence  examined  the  record. 
"  We  should  have  several  objections  to  present 
against  it,"  said  they,  "  which,  in  the  absence  of  a 
jury,  we  should  like  to  present  to  the  Court." * 

"  The  record,"  said  Mr.  Parker,  "  is  decisive  of 
two  points :  first,  that  Burns  owed  service  and  labor, 
second,  that  he  escaped."  On  the  point  of  identity 
he  requested  the  Commissioner  to  examine  the 
marks  upon  the  prisoner. 

1  See  Appendix  C. 


90  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

"  I  perceive,"  said  the  Commissoner,  "  the  scars 
on  the  cheek  and  hand,  and  take  cognizance  with 
my  eye  of  the  prisoner's  height."  He  offered  to 
have  the  prisoner  brought  up  for  a  closer  examina 
tion,  but  this  was  declined. 

A  volume  of  Virginia  laws  relative  to  the  or 
ganization  and  power  of  courts  was  presented  as 
evidence.  Objection  was  made. 

"  A  book  is  here  presented,"  said  Mr.  Dana,  "  to 
show  that  a  person  owes  service  and  labor  in  Vir 
ginia  !  We  deny  the  sufficiency  of  the  evidence." 

"  The  proper  way,"  said  the  opposing  counsel, 
"  to  prove  the  law  of  another  state  is  by  books ;  if 
the  book  is  not  sufficient,  I  wish  to  prove  the  fact 
in  another  way." 

"  Let  the  book  go  in  as  testimony  for  what  it  is 
worth,"  said  the  Commissioner. 

The  evidence  on  the  part  of  the  claimant  here 
closed.  The  court  had  been  in  session  five  hours, 
and  an  adjournment  was  asked  for.  At  first,  the 
Commissioner  refused  to  grant  it,  his  anxiety  to 
press  the  case  to  a  close  overpowering  all  consider 
ations  of  judicial  decorum.  With  great  reluctance, 
he  was  at  length  persuaded  to  allow  a  half-hourrs 
recess  to  enable  the  prisoner's  counsel  to  examine 
authorities  and  make  some  other  necessary  prepa 
ration.1 

Upon  the  re-assembling  of  the  court,  Mr.  Ellis 

1  The  greater  part  of  this  brief  recess  was  rendered  of  no  avail 
by  the  obstructions  which  the  officials  and  the  military  presented  in 
the  way  of  the  counsel  for  Burns. 


THE    EXAMINATION.  91 

% 

opened  for  the  defence.  Allowed  but  a  single  day 
for  preparation,  denied  access  to  the  law  library  of 
the  court,  obstructed  and  delayed  in  his  movements 
by  the  military,  he  entered  upon  his  task  under  the 
greatest  embarrassment.  He  and  his  associate 
had  been  charged  with  seeking,  not  a  trial  under, 
but  a  triumph  over  the  law.  This  was  denied. 
"  Not  only,"  said  he,  "  have  I  never  sought  to  resist 
the  law,  but  I  have  done  something  to  stay  resist 
ance  to  it.  I  stand  here  for  the  prisoner,  under, 
and  not  against  the  law." 

The  position  of  the  prisoner  was  impressively 
described.  "  Seized  on  a  false  charge,  without 
counsel,  the  prisoner  is  to  be  doomed.  And  then, 
with  no  power  to  test  jurisdiction,  when  every 
one  of  the  writs  of  the  common  law  for  personal 
liberty's  security  is  found  to  have  failed,  without 
time,  without  food,  without  free  access  to  the  court, 
without  the  show  of  free  action  or  free  thought 
within  it,  without  challenge  for  favor  or  bias,  for 
cause  or  without  cause,  without  jury,  without 
proofs  in  form,  or  witnesses  to  confront  him,  with 
a  judge  sitting  with  his  hands  tied,  in  nearly  all 
points  the  merest  tool  of  the  most  monstrous  of 
anomalies,  with  no  power  to  render  a  judgment, 
but  full  power  to  doom  to  the  direst  sentence,  I  say 
that  in  all  things  save  one — in  your  opinion — the 
prisoner  has  not  the  semblance  of  justice." 

It  had  been  urged  that  the  examination  was 
merely  preliminary.  "  They  know  better,"  replied 
the  advocate,  "  when  they  say  so.  The  law  looks 


92  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

no  further,  nothing  is  to  follow.  This  is  the  final 
act  in  the  farce  of  hearing.  They  know,  we  know, 
you  know,  that  if  you  send  him  hence  with  them, 
he  goes  to  the  block,  to  the  sugar  or  cotton  planta 
tion,  to  the  lash  under  which  I  have  heard  that 
Sims,  who  entered  the  dark  portal,  breathed  out 
his  life."  Therefore  he  adjured  the  Commissioner 
to  refuse  the  certificate  of  surrender  except  upon 
the  most  overwhelming  proof. 

And  what  proof  had  the  claimant  presented? 
He  had  called  only  a  single  witness,  and  had  pro 
duced  a  written  paper  which  he  styled  a  record  of 
a  Virginia  court.  This  evidence,  the  counsel  al 
leged,  was  defective  in  many  particulars,  which  he 
pointed  out;  some  of  it  was  inadmissible,  and 
what  was  admissible  was  insufficient.  The  fugi 
tive  slave  act  was  commented  upon,  and  several 
positions  were  stated  upon  which  it  was  claimed 
that  act  ought  to  be  declared  unconstitutional. 

"  For  the  reasons  now  presented,"  said  the  ad 
vocate,  in  closing  his  review,  "  the  claimant  shows 
no  claim  to  a  certificate ;  and,  if  such  a  case  stood 
alone,  we  feel  that  it  ought  to  be  dismissed." 

"  But,"  continued  he  with  altered  look  and  voice, 
"  the  prisoner  has  a  case  of  his  own.  The  com 
plaint  alleges,  the  only  record  offered  proves,  the 
only  witness  called  testifies  to,  an  escape  from 
Richmond  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  March  last. 
The  witness  swears  clearly  and  positively  that  he 
saw  this  prisoner  in  Richmond  on  the  twentieth 
day  of  March. 


THE   EXAMINATION.  93 

"  We  shall  call  a  number  of  witnesses  to  show, 
— fixing,  as  I  think,  the  man  and  the  time  beyond 
question, — that  the  prisoner  was  in  Boston  on  the 
first  of  March  last,  and  has  been  here  ever  since  up 
to  the  time  of  this  seizure.  This  is  our  defence." 
An  alibi  was  to  be  proved.1 

A  colored  citizen  of  South  Boston,  named  Wil 
liam  Jones,  was  called  upon  the  stand.  He  testified 
that  he  first  saw  Burns  in  Washington  street, 
Boston,  on  the  first  day  of  March,  1854,  and  that 
on  the  fourth  of  the  same  month  he  employed  him 
to  labor  in  the  Mattapan  Works  at  South  Boston. 
He  was  able  to  fix  the  dates  by  reference  to  a 
memorandum  book,  in  which,  at  his  request,  a  cer 
tain  Mr.  Russell  had  made  an  entry  of  the  time, 
and  which  was  produced  by  him  in  court.  The 
particularity  of  detail  with  which  this  testimony 
was  given,  presented  a  field  for  attack  which  the 
claimant's  counsel  did  not  fail  to  improve.  A  sharp 
and  protracted  cross-examination  followed,  but  it 
failed  to  shake  the  testimony,  and,  at  the  end  of 
several  hours,  the  witness  was  permitted  to  retire 
from  the  stand. 

George  H.  Drew,  a  white  citizen  of  Boston, 
confirmed  the  statements  of  the  colored  witness. 
He  was  the  book-keeper  at  the  Mattapan  Works, 
in  March;  knew  Jones  to  have  been  employed 

1  The  word  alibi  is  the  one  that  most  nearly  expresses  the  idea 
sought  to  be  conveyed.  I  am  told  that  it  is  not  in  good  odor  with 
the  legal  profession.  Let  it  be  taken  without  the  bad  odor,  and  the 
reader  will  get  no  wrong  impression. 


94  ANTHONY    BURNS. 

there  on  the  first  of  that  month,  and  then  saw 
Burns  with  him.  He  had  no  doubt  of  the  man's 
identity ;  and  he  had,  moreover,  observed  that  on 
his  first  entering  the  court-room,  Burns  had  ap 
peared  to  recognize  him  by  following  him  round 
the  room  with  his  eyes. 

James  F.  Whittemore,  a  member  of  the  city 
council  of  Boston,  and  a  director  of  the  Mattapan 
Works,  swore  that  he  saw  Burns  there  on  the 
eighth  or  ninth  of  March,  at  work  with  Jones- 
He  identified  the  man  by  the  scars  on  his  cheek 
and  right  hand,  and  fixed  the  time  by  reference  to 
his  return  from  a  journey.  To  a  question  from  the 
prisoner's  counsel,  he  replied  that  he  was  an  officer 
of  the  Pulaski  Guards,  then  under  arms  for  the 
purpose  of  quelling  any  disturbance  growing  out 
of  this  affair,  and  that  he  was  not  a  free-soiler  or 
abolitionist,  but  a  hunker  whig.  This  explanation 
was  fitted  to  increase  the  weight  of  his  testimony 
on  the  public  mind. 

Stephen  Maddox,  a  colored  clothing  trader  in 
Boston,  had  seen  Burns  at  his  store  in  March,  ac 
companied  by  Jones.  He  had  particularly  noticed 
the  mark  on  his  cheek,  and  was  able  to  say  that 
the  time  was  about  the  first  of  the  month. 

William  C.  Culver,  a  blacksmith,  H.  N.  Oilman, 
a  teamster,  and  Rufus  A.  Putnam,  a  machinist,  all 
of  whom  had  been  employed  at  the  Mattapan 
Works  in  March,  testified  with  various  degrees  of 
particularity  to  having  seen  the  prisoner  there  before 
the  middle  of  that  month. 


THE   EXAMINATION.  95 

John  Favor,  a  carpenter,  had  seen  Bums,  accom 
panied  by  Jones,  in  his  shop,  some  time  between 
the  first  and  fifth  of  March,  he  thought ;  he  had  no 
doubt  that  the  prisoner  was  the  man. 

Finally,  Horace  W.  Brown,  a  police  officer, 
testified  that,  while  employed  as  a  carpenter  at  the 
Mattapan  Works,  he  had  seen  Burns  at  work  there 
with  Jones,  some  week  or  ten  days  before  he  left, 
which  was  on  the  twentieth  of  March.  He  had 
not  the  slightest  doubt  about  the  man's  identity. 

The  evidence  for  the  prisoner  was  closed.  As  it 
progressed,  a  marked  change  in  the  countenances 
and  manner  of  the  claimant  and  his  party  had 
gradually  made  itself  manifest.  They  had  greeted 
the  first  colored  witness  with  a  fixed  stare  of  con 
temptuous  incredulity ;  his  story  they  regarded  as 
the  falsehood  of  a  perjurer,  and  when  the  ingenuity 
of  the  counsel  in  cross-examining  proved  no  match 
for  the  negro's  self-possession,  they  still  looked  upon 
it  as  only  the  case  of  a  "  He  well  stuck  to."  The 
testimony  of  the  next  witness,  a  respectable  white 
citizen,  somewhat  abated  their  lofty  and  assured 
looks ;  but  when  one  who  was  clothed  with  the 
double  responsibilities  of  civil  and  military  office, 
who  was  at  the  time  on  duty  in  the  claimant's  be 
half,  and  who  disavowed  the  character  of  an  aboli 
tionist, —  when  this  witness  emphatically  confirmed 
the  testimony  previously  given,  all  the  assurance 
of  the  claimant  and  his  friends  gave  place  to  un 
feigned  anxiety  and  alarm,  while  wonder  and  hope 
played  over  the  countenances  of  those  who  sym- 


96  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

pathized  with  the  prisoner.  Witness  after  witness 
followed,  until  the  cumulative  evidence  of  nine 
persons  stood  arrayed  in  irreconcilable  hostility 
against  the  single  testimony  of  Brent.  It  seemed 
beyond  a  question  that  the  alibi  had  been  estab 
lished. 

An  effort  was*  now  made  to  destroy  the  force 
of  the  evidence  in  behalf  of  the  prisoner,  by  the 
introduction  of  rebutting  evidence.  One  of  the 
witnesses,  called  for  this  purpose,  had  been  a  keeper 
over  Burns,  from  the  time  of  the  arrest ;  he  was 
expected  to  testify  to  certain  statements  made  by 
the  prisoner  while  in  his  charge.  This  was  objected 
to,  on  the  general  ground  that  the  prisoner's  admis 
sions  were  not  to  be  received  at  all ;  on  the  further 
ground  that,  in  this  instance,  they  had  been  made 
under  intimidation ;  and  finally,  on  the  ground 
that  it  was  not  rebutting  testimony.  Notwith 
standing,  the  Commissioner  ruled  that  it  should  be 
admitted.  Accordingly,  the  witness  proceeded  to 
state  that  in  conversation  with  himself,  during  the 
period  of  arrest,  Burns  had  said  that  he  had  been 
in  Boston  about  two  months,  and  that  previously 
he  had  been  in  Richmond,  Virginia.  With  this 
piece  of  evidence  from  a  hireling  of  the  slaveholder, 
the  testimony  on  both  sides  was  closed. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    ARGUMENTS. 

AMIDST  the  deepest  silence,  Richard  H.  Dana, 
Jr.,  rose  to  make  the  closing  argument  for  the  pris 
oner.  The  son  of  one  of  America's  most  eminent 
poets,  the  grandson  of  a  Chief  Justice  of  Massa 
chusetts,  he  was  less  indebted  to  ancestral  fame 
for  the  high  position  which  he  at  the  time  enjoyed, 
than  to  his  own  genius  and  industry.  Compelled, 
while  a  member  of  the  University,  to  abandon  the 
pursuit  of  science  for  the  pursuit  of  health,  he  had 
shipped  before  the  mast  on  board  a  vessel  bound 
to  the  then  almost  uninhabited  coast  of  California, 
for  a  cargo  of  raw  hides.  In  this  situation,  sharing 
in  all  the  perils  and  toils  and  pleasures  of  the  com 
mon  sailor,  on  ship  and  on  shore,  now  out  upon  a 
yard-arm  reefing  sails  in  a  tempest,  now  on  land, 
day  after  day,  bending  beneath  a  load  of  filthy 
hides,  he  underwent  an  experience  which  would 
have  rendered  a  coarse  nature  only  coarser,  but 
which,  transmuted  and  improved  by  his  finer  na 
ture,  and  afterwards  given  to  the  world  in  the  cele 
brated  and  fascinating  "  Two  Years  Before  the 
Mast,"  became  the  foundation  of  his  future  for 
tunes.  Elected  a  member  of  the  Convention  for 
9  (97) 


98  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

revising  the  Constitution  of  Massachusetts  in  1853, 
he  there  quickly  distinguished  himself,  and  by  uni 
versal  consent  took  his  place  in  the  first  rank  of 
that  eminent  body.  He  was  now,  by  his  generous 
and  powerful  defence  of  the  oppressed,  about  to 
earn  fresh  laurels  for  his  brow.1  Of  moderate  tem 
per,  of  conservative  principles,  of  charitable  judg 
ment,  he  yet  felt  impeUed,  by  the  unparalleled 
circumstances  of  the  occasion,  to  preface  his  argu 
ment  with  an  exordium  so  stinging  and  intolerable 
in  its  truth,  that  the  miscreants  at  whom  it  was 
levelled,  and  upon  whose  ears  it  fell,  glutted  their 
revenge,  not  long  after,  by  waylaying  him  in  the 
street  at  night  and  felling  him  to  the  ground.2 
Widely  circulated  in  the  papers  of  the  day,  it 
deserves  a  place  upon  the  permanent  page  of 
history. 

"  I  congratulate  you,  Sir,"  said  he,  "  that  your 
labors,  so  anxious  and  painful,  are  drawing  to  a 
close.  I  congratulate  the  Commonwealth  of  Mas 
sachusetts  that  she  is  to  be  relieved  from  that  in- 

1  Two  purses,  of  $200  each,  were  made  up  by  the  Committee  of 
Vigilance,  and  tendered  to  Messrs.  Dana  and  Ellis,  but  the  service 
had  been  given  from  love  of  the  cause,  and  the  money  was  declined. 
Subsequently,  pieces  of  silver  plate,  with  suitable  inscriptions,  were 
presented  to  each  gentleman  by  the  same  parties. 

2  One  of  them  was  arrested  and  put  under  bonds  to  appear  for 
trial,  but  before  the  appointed  time  he  fled  to  New  Orleans.     His 
bondsmen,  irritated  at  his  want  of  good  faith,  procured  a  requisition 
from  Governor  Washburn  upon  the  Governor  of  Louisiana,  and 
sent  an  officer  in  pursuit.     He  was  apprehended,  brought  back, 
tried,  and  sentenced  to  hard  labor  for  a  term  of  years  in  the  State 
Prison. 


THE  ARGUMENTS.  99 

cubus  which  has  rested  on  her  for  so  many  days 
and  nights,  making  her  to  dream  strange  dreams 
and  see  strange  visions.  I  congratulate  her  that 
at  length,  in  due  time,  by  leave  of  the  Marshal  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  District  Attorney  of  the 
United  States,  first  had  and  obtained  therefor,  her 
courts  may  be  re-opened,  and  her  judges,  suitors, 
and  witnesses  may  pass  and  repass  without  being 
obliged  to  satisfy  hirelings  of  the  United  States 
Marshal  and  bayonetted  foreigners,  clothed  in  the 
uniform  of  .our  army  and  navy,  that  they  have  a 
right  to  be  there.  I  congratulate  the  city  of  Bos 
ton  that  her  peace  here  is  no  longer  to  be  in  dan 
ger.  Yet  I  cannot  but  admit  that  while  her  peace 
here  is  in  some  danger,  the  peace  of  all  other  parts 
of  the  city  has  never  been  so  safe  as  while  the 
Marshal  has  had  his  posse  of  specials  in  this  Court 
House.  Why,  Sir,  people  have  not  felt  it  neces 
sary  to  lock  their  doors  at  night,  the  brothels  are 
tenanted  only  by  women,  fighting-dogs  and  racing- 
horses  have  been  unemployed,  and  Ann  street  and 
its  alleys  and  cellars  show  signs  of  a  coming  mil 
lennium. 

"  I  congratulate,  too,  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  that  its  legal  representative  can 
return  to  his  appropriate  duties,  and  that  his  sedu 
lous  presence  will  no  longer  be  needed  here  in  a 
private  civil  suit  for  the  purpose  of  intimidation,  a 
purpose  which  his  effort  the  day  before  yesterday 
showed  every  desire  to  effect,  which  although  it 
did  not  influence  this  Court  in  the  least,  I  deeply 


100  ANTHONY   BUHNS. 

regret  that  your  Honor  did  not  put  down  at  once, 
and  bring  to  bear  upon  him  the  judicial  power  of 
this  tribunal.  I  congratulate  the  Marshal  of  the 
United  States  that  the  ordinary  respectability  of 
his  character  is  no  longer  to  be  in  danger  from 
the  character  of  the  associates  he  is  obliged  to  call 
about  him.  I  congratulate  the  officers  of  the  army 
and  navy  that  they  can  be  relieved  from  this  ser 
vice,  which  as  gentlemen  and  soldiers  surely  they 
despise,  and  can  draw  off  their  non-commissioned 
officers  and  privates,  both  drunk  and  sober,  from 
this  fortified  slave-pen  to  the  custody  of  the  forts 
and  fleets  of  our  country,  which  have  been  left  in 
peril  that  this  great  Republic  might  add  to  its 
glories  the  trophies  of  one  more  captured  slave." 
With  this  introduction,  Mr.  Dana  proceeded  to 
his  argument.  The  Commissioner  had  declared  in 
the  outset  that  he  should  presume  the  prisoner  to 
be  a  freeman  until  he  was  proved  a  slave.  To  this 
declaration  Mr.  Dana  held  the  Court.  Upon  it  he 
rested  his  hopes.  It  was  for  the  claimant,  there 
fore,  to  furnish  evidence  that  the  prisoner  was  his 
slave.  He  had  described  a  certain  slave  belonging 
to  him — was  the  prisoner  that  slave?  This  was 
a  question  of  identity.  But  on  the  point  of  iden 
tity  men  were  liable  to  be  mistaken  —  actually  had 
been  mistaken.  Jacob  had  been  mistaken  for  Esau 
by  his  own  father.  The  history  of  slave-catching 
furnished  examples  of  terrible  mistakes  of  this  sort. 
A  freeman  named  Gibson  had  been  remanded  from 
Philadelphia  to  Maryland  as  a  slave.  Another 


THE  ARGUMENTS.;'  ^jftfl 

named  Freeman  had  been  sent  into  slavery  from 
Indiana.  With  such  impressive  instances  on  re 
cord,  it  was  all  important  to  guard  against  any  mis 
take.  What  evidence  of  identity  in  this  case  had 
Suttle  furnished?  First  and  chiefly,  there  was 
Brent's  testimony.  But  Brent  had  not  been  favor 
ably  situated  for  identifying  Burns.  Then,  the 
description  in  the  record  was  relied  upon ;  but  the 
description  was  loose,  and  the  record  itself  was 
probably  nothing  but  Brent  on  paper.  It  was  fur 
ther  said,  that  Brent's  liability  to  bias  as  a  Vir 
ginian  should  be  taken  into  consideration. 

... "  But,"  continued  Mr.  Dana,  "  there  is  fortunately 
one  fact  of  which  Mr.  Brent  is  sure.  He  knows 
that  he  saw  this  Anthony  Burns  in  Richmond, 
Virginia,  on  the  twentieth  day  of  March  last,  and 
that  he  disappeared  from  there  on  the  twenty-fourth. 
To  this  fact  he  testified  unequivocally.  After  all 
the  evidence  is  put  in  on  our  side  to  show  that  the 
prisoner  was  in  Boston  on  the  first  and  fifth  of 
March,  he  does  not  go  back  to  the  stand  to  correct 
an  error,  or  to  say  that  he  may  have  been  mistaken, 
or  that  he  only  meant  to  say  that  it  was  about  the 
twentieth  or  twenty-fourth.  He  persists  in  his  pos 
itive  testimony,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  is 
right  and  honest  in  doing  so.  He  did  see  Anthony 
Burns  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  on  the  twentieth  day 
of  March,  and  Anthony  Burns  was  first  missing 
from  there  on  the  twenty-fourth.  But  the  prisoner 
was  in  Boston,  earning  an  honest  livelihood  by  the 
work  of  his  hands,  through  the  active  month  of 

9* 


1:0:2:  ;  •  _J  ANTHONY  BURNS. 


/  March,  from  the  first  day  forward.  Of  this  your 
Honor  cannot,  on  the  proofs,  entertain  a  reasonable 
\doubt." 

Mr.  Dana  proceeded  to  review  the  testimony  in 
troduced  by  the  defence  on  this  point.  The  princi 
pal  witness  was  Jones.  He  had  sworn  with  great 
particularity  of  detail  that  the  prisoner  was  seen 
by  him  in  Boston  on  the  first  day  of  March,  and 
was  at  work  with  him  in  his  employ  on  the  fifth 
and  eighteenth  of  the  same  month,  in  the  same 
city.  He  could  not  be  mistaken  respecting  the 
man's  identity.  This  testimony  was  vital,  and 
was  either  the  truth,  or  a  pure  fabrication.  "  I  saw 
at  once,"  said  Mr.  Dana,  "  as  every  one  must  have 
seen,  that  the  story  so  full  of  details,  with  such 
minuteness  of  names,  and  dates,  and  places,  must 
either  stand  impregnable,  or  be  shattered  to  pieces. 
The  severest  test  has  been  applied.  The  other 
side  has  had  a  day  in  which  to  follow  up  the 
points  of  Jones's  diary,  and  discover  his  errors  and 
falsehoods.  But  he  is  corroborated  in  every  point." 

Having  passed  in  review  the  testimony  of  the 
other  witnesses  confirming  that  of  Jones,  the  ad 
vocate  proceeded  to  set  forth  the  cumulative  effect 
of  such  an  array  of  witnesses.  "  On  a  question 
of  identity,"  said  he,  "  numbers  are  everything. 
One  man  may  mistake  by  accident,  design,  or  bias. 
His  sight  may  be  poor,  his  observation  imperfect, 
his  opportunities  slight,  his  recollection  of  faces 
not  vivid.  But  if  six  or  eight  men  agree  on  iden 
tity,  the  evidence  has  more  than  six  or  eight  times 


THE   ARGUMENTS.  103 

the  force  of  one  man's  opinion.  Each  man  has 
his  own  mode  and  means  and  habits  of  observa 
tion  and  recollection.  One  observes  one  thing, 
and  another  another  thing.  One  makes  this  com 
bination  and  association,  and  another  that.  One 
sees  him  in  one  light,  or  expression,  or  position,  or 
action,  and  another  in  another.  One  remembers  a 
look,  another  a  tone,  another  the  gait,  another  the 
gesture.  Now  if  a  considerable  number  of  these 
independent  observers  combine  upon  the  same  man, 
the  chances  of  mistake  are  lessened  to  an  indefinite 
degree.  What  other  man  could  answer  so  many 
conditions  presented  in  such  various  ways  ?  On 
the  point  of  the  time  and  the  place;  too,  each  of 
those  witnesses  is  an  independent  observer.  These 
are  not  links  in  one  chain,  each  depending  on 
another.  They  are  separate  rays,  from  separate 
sources,  uniting  on  one  point." 

In  concluding  this  part  of  his  argument,  Mr. 
Dana  inquired :  "  If  the  burden  of  proof  had  been 
upon  us,  should  we  not  have  met  it  ?  How  much 
more,  then,  are  we  entitled  to  prevail  where  we 
have  only  to  shake  the  claimant's  case  by  showing 
that  it  is  left  in  reasonable  doubt  ?  " 

A  new  and  independent  line  of  argument  was 
now  taken.  "  Throw  out,"  said  Mr.  Dana,  "  all  of 
our  testimony  and  rest  the  case  on  the  claimant's 
evidence  alone."  Two  questions  were  to  be  met : 
Did  the  prisoner  owe  service  to  Suttle  ?  Did  he 
escape  from  Virginia  into  Massachusetts  ?  The 
claimant  offered  the  record  of  the  Virginia  Court 


104  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

as  conclusive  on  both  these  points.  It  was  agreed 
that  such  would  be  its  effect  if  the  proper  mode 
of  proceeding  was  adopted.  The  fugitive  slave 
act  provided  two  methods..  By  the  tenth  section 
the  questions  of  slavery  and  escape  were  to  be 
tried  ex  parte,  in  the  state  from  which  the  person 
escaped ;  and  the  record  of  this  was  to  be  conclu 
sive.  By  the  sixth  section,  the  same  questions 
might  be  tried  in  the  state  where  the  escaping 
person  was  found.  These  were  distinct,  indepen 
dent  methods,  and  the  claimant  was  at  liberty  to 
proceed  under  either.  He  had,  however, "proceeded 
under  both ;  he  had  attempted  to  prove  the  facts 
of  slavery  and  escape  by  parole  and  other  evidence 
before  the  Commissioner,  and  he  had  also  offered 
the  Virginia  record  as  conclusive  of  the  same  facts. 
But  this  was  inadmissible.  The  two  methods 
could  not  be  thus  combined.  The  structure  of  the 
statute  plainly  implied  the  reverse.  Having  elected 
to  proceed  under  the  sixth  section,  the  claimant 
was  no  longer  at  liberty  to  introduce  his  record 
under  the  tenth. 

But,  if  the  record  were  considered  as  admissible 
in  other  respects,  and  conclusive  if  admitted,  it  was 
still  objectionable  both  in  form  and  substance.  It 
did  not  purport  to  be  a  record  of  the  matters  proved. 
It  did  not  describe  the  person  with  such  convenient 
certainty  as  might  be.  It  did  not  allege  that  he  - 
escaped  into  another  state.  "  On  one  or  more  of 
these  points,"  said  Mr.  Dana,  "  we  have  great  con 
fidence  that  the  record  will  be  excluded,  or  that,  if 


THE   ARGUMENTS.  105 

admitted,  we  may  control  it  by  the  claimant's  own 
testimony." 

One  part  of  the  testimony  showed  that  Burns, 
at  the  time  of  his  escape,  owed  service,  not  to  Sut- 
tle,  but  to  Millspaugh.  He  was  leased  to  Mills- 
paugh.  This  was  in  flat  contradiction  to  the  record. 
What  right  then  had  Suttle  to  claim  Bums  ?  Until 
the  lease  expired,  Millspaugh  had  the  sole  right  of 
possession  and  control.  "  Mr.  Millspaugh,"  argued 
Mr.  Dana,  "  may  allow  him  to  come  to  Massachu 
setts  and  stay  here  until  the  end  of  the  lease,  if  he 
chooses.  Col.  Suttle  has  nothing  to  say  about  it." 
But  this  was  not  all.  The  testimony  of  Brent 
showed  that  Burns  had  been  mortgaged,  and  there 
was  no  evidence  before  the  Commissioner  that  the 
mortgage  had  been  discharged.  On  this  ground, 
also,  Suttle  was  precluded  from  interfering. 

An  essential  element  in  the  claimant's  case  was 
the  escape.  Had  there  been  any  escape  ?  There 
was  no  evidence  of  the  fact.  To  constitute  an 
escape,  two  things  must  concur :  that  the  person 
came  away,  first,  of  his  own  will,  and  second,  against 
his  master's  will.  The  claimant  had  introduced 
evidence  showing  that  Burns  had  not  escaped  of 
his  own  will ;  and  by  that  evidence  he  was  bound. 
Respecting  Millspaugh,  his  master  for  the  time, 
and  the  only  person  having  a  right  at  the  time  to 
say  whether  he  should  go  or  come,  no  evidence  at 
all  had  been  introduced.  A  case  of  escape,  then, 
had  not  been  made  out,  and  as,  by  the  decisions  of 
the  Courts,  the  escape  is  the  casus  foederis  under  the 


106  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

constitution,  the  prisoner  could  not  rightfully  be 
sent  back  to  Virginia. 

The  admissions  of  Burns  were  last  considered. 
They  were  made  under  extraordinary  circum 
stances.  The  prisoner  was  overwhelmed  with  ter 
ror.  They  rested  on  the  evidence  of  a  single  wit 
ness  testifying  under  the  strongest  bias,  and  who, 
in  regard  to  one  part  of  the  admissions  which  he 
swore  to,  had  been  proved  to  have  been  mistaken. 
But,  under  any  circumstances,  the  Commissioner 
should  have  ruled  them  out.  Reason,  humanity, 
and  precedent,  required  that  they  should  not  be 
received. 

On  the  constitutional  question,  Mr.  Dana  said 
he  should  offer  the  propositions  in  the  same  form 
in  which  they  were  cast  by  Mr.  Rantoul  in  the 
Sims'  case,  and  not  argue  them  at  all,  putting  them 
forward  as  a  continued  protest : 

I.  That  the  power  which  the  Commissioner  is 
called  upon  in  this  procedure  to  exercise  is  a  judi 
cial  power,  and  one  that,  if  otherwise  lawful,  can 
be  exercised  only  by  a  judge  of  the  United  States 
Court,  duly  appointed,  and  that  the  Commissioner 
is  not  such  a  judge. 

II.  That   the  procedure  is  a  suit  between  the 
claimant  and  captive,  involving  an  alleged  right  of 
property  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  right  of  personal 
liberty  on  the  other,  and  that  either  party,  therefore, 
is  entitled  to  trial  by  jury ;  and  the  law  which  pur 
ports  to  authorize  a  delivery  of  the  captive  to  the 
claimant,  denying  him  the  privilege  of  such  a  trial, 


THE   ARGUMENTS.  107 

and  which  he  here  claims  under  judicial  process,  is 
unconstitutional  and  void. 

III.  That  the  transcript  of  testimony  taken  be 
fore  the  magistrates  of  a  state  court  in  Georgia, 
and  of  the  judgment  thereupon  by  such  magis 
trates,  is  incompetent  evidence,   Congress  having 
no  power   to  confer  upon  state  courts  or  magis 
trates  judicial  authority  to  determine,  conclusively 
or  otherwise,  upon  the  effect  of  evidence  to  be  used 
in  a  suit  pending  or  to  be  tried  in  another  state,  or 
before  another  tribunal. 

IV.  That  such  evidence  is  also  incompetent,  be 
cause  the  captive  was  not  represented  at  the  taking 
thereof,  and  had  no  opportunity  for  cross-examina 
tion. 

V.  That  the  statute  under  which  the  process  is 
instituted   is   unconstitutional   and   void,   as    not 
within  the  power  granted  to  Congress  by  the  Con 
stitution,  and  because  it  is  opposed  to  the  express 
provisions  thereof. 

Mr.  Dana  closed  with  an  impressive  appeal  to 
the  Commissioner.  "  You  recognized,  Sir,"  said  he, 
"  in  the  beginning,  the  presumption  of  freedom. 
Hold  to  it  now,  Sir,  as  to  the  sheet  anchor  of  your 
own  peace  of  mind,  as  well  as  of  the  prisoner's 
safety.  If  you  make  a  mistake  in  favor  of  the 
prisoner,  a  pecuniary  value,  not  great,  is  put  at 
hazard.  If  against  him,  a  free  man  is  made  a 
slave.  If  you  have,  on  the  evidence  or  on  the  law, 
the  doubt  of  a  reasoning  and  reasonable  mind,  an 
intelligent  misgiving,  then,  Sir,  I  implore  you,  in 


108  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

view  of  the  cruel  character  of  this  law,  in  view  of 
the  dreadful  consequences  of  a  mistake,  send  him 
not  away  with  that  tremendous  doubt  on  your 
mind.  It  may  turn  to  a  torturing  certainty.  The 
eyes  of  many  millions  are  upon  you,  Sir.  You  are 
to  do  an  act  which  will  hold  its  place  in  the  history 
of  America,  in  the  history  of  the  progress  of  the 
human  race.  May  your  judgment  be  for  liberty 
and  not  for  slavery ;  for  happiness  and  not  for 
wretchedness  ;  for  hope  and  not  for  despair :  and 
may  the  blessing  of  him  that  is  ready  to  perish 
come  upon  you." 

Seth  J.  Thomas  closed  the  case  for  the  claimant. 
After  a  congratulatory  exordium,  confessedly  in 
imitation  of  Mr.  Dana's,  he  proceeded  as  follows  : 

"  The  claimant  in  this  case,  Charles  F.  Suttle, 
says  he  is  of  Alexandria,  in  the  state  of  Virginia ; 
that,  under  the  laws  of  that  state,  he  held  to  ser 
vice  and  labor  one  Anthony  Burns,  a  colored  man; 
that,  on  or  about  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  March 
last,  while  so  held  to  service  by  him,  the  said 
Anthony  escaped  from  the  said  state  of  Virginia, 
and  that  he  is  now  here  in  court.  He  prays  you 
(the  Commissioner)  to  hear  and  consider  his  proofs 
in  support  of  this  his  claim,  and,  if  they  satisfac 
torily  support  it,  that  you  will  certify  to  him,  under 
your  hand  and  seal,  that  he  has  a  right  to  transport 
him  back  to  Virginia.  This  is  his  whole  case ; 
this  is  all  that  he  asks  you  to  do.  Under  your  cer 
tificate,  he  may  take  him  back  to  the  place  from 
whence  he  fled ;  and  he  can  in  virtue  of  that  take 
him  no  where  else. 


THE   ARGUMENTS.  109 

"  Now,  to  entitle  the  claimant  to  this  certificate, 
what  must  he  prove?  Two  things.  First,  that 
Burns  owed  service  and  labor  to  him,  the  claimant. 
Second,  that  he  escaped.  How  is  he  to  prove 
these  ?  The  statute  answers.  He  may  apply  to 
any  court  of  record  in  Virginia,  or  judge  thereof 
in  vacation,  and  make  satisfactory  proof  to  such 
court  or  judge  that  Burns  owes  service  or  labor  to 
him,  and  that  he  escaped.  The  court  shall  then 
cause  a  record  to  be  made  of  the  matter  so  proved, 
and  also  a  general  description  of  the  person,  with 
such  convenient  certainty  as  may  be  ;  and  a  trans 
cript  of  such  record,  authenticated  by  the  attesta 
tion  of  the  seal  of  the  court,  being  produced  here 
where  the  person  is  found,  and  being  exhibited  to 
you,  is  to  be  taken  by  you  as  conclusive  of  the  facts 
of  escape  and  of  service  due.  And  upon  the  pro 
duction  by  the  claimant  of  other  and  further 
evidence,  if  necessary,  in  respect  to  the  identity 
of  the  person  escaping,  he  is  to  be  delivered  up 
to  the  claimant,  with  a  certificate  of  his  right  to 
take  him  back ;  or  his  claim  may  be  heard  upon 
other  satisfactory  proofs  competent  in  law. 

"  Such  are  the  requirements.  How  have  we 
met  them?  We  have  put  in  the  transcript  of  a 
record.  It  is  duly  authenticated,  and  is  conclusive 
upon  the  court  of  the  two  facts  therein  recited,  viz., 
that  the  claimant  held  one  Anthony  Burns  to  ser 
vice  or  labor,  and  that  he  escaped.  These  two 
facts  are  not  open  here.  Then  the  question 
remains,  is  the  person  at  the  bar,  Anthony  Burns, 
10 


110  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

as  he  is  called, — nobody  thinks  of  calling  him  any 
thing  else, — is  he  the  Anthony  Burns  named  in  the 
record?  If  he  is,  there  is  an  end  of  the  case. 
The  claim  is  made  out  and  the  certificate  must 
follow.  This,  with  simple  proof  of  identity,  would 
have  been  all  that,  in  an  ordinary  case,  counsel 
would  have  deemed  it  necessary  to  do." 

But  this  was  an  extraordinary  case;  and  Mr. 
Thomas  proceeded  to  say  that,  in  addition  to  the 
record  and  proof  of  identity,  he  had  deemed  it 
proper  to  put  in  the  testimony  of  Brent,  and  the 
admissions  of  Burns.  As  to  the  question  of  iden 
tity,  there  was  the  description  in  the  record.  This 
had  been  objected  to  by  the  opposing  counsel  as 
being  loose,  general  in  its  terms,  and  defective  in 
important  particulars.  Mr.  Thomas  contended  that 
it  was  sufficiently  exact  to  warrant  its  exclusive 
application  to  the  prisoner. 

He  next  considered  the  array  of  testimony  pre 
sented  by  the  defence  to  prove  that  Burns  was  in 
Massachusetts  during  the  whole  month  of  March, 
and  that  consequently  Brent's  story  could  not  be 
true.  The  leading  witness,  was  Jones,  the  colored 
man.  His  testimony  was  disposed  of  by  the  attor 
ney's  simple  declaration  that  it  was  "  a  story  man 
ufactured  for  the  case."  But  there  were  seven 
other  witnesses  who  had  corroborated  that  "  story." 
These  were  disposed  of  in  an  equally  summary 
manner.  "  Jones,"  said  the  claimant's  counsel, 
"went  to  them  and  asked  them  if  they  did  not 
remember  the  man  he  had  with  him  cleaning  the 


THE    ARGUMENTS.  Ill 

windows  [at  the  Mattapan  Works],  told  them  this 
was  the  man,  impressed  them  with  this  fact.  They 
came  into  court  with  this  impression,  and  made 
up  their  minds  that  he  was." 

Having  thus  insisted  that  the  unimpeached  tes 
timony  for  the  defence  was  based  upon  combined 
falsehood  and  delusion,  he  proceeded  by  implica 
tion  to  admit  its  truth.  Its  force  was  too  great, 
apparently,  even  for  himself.  "  Brent,"  said  he, 
"  may  possibly  be  mistaken  as  to  the  date."  But, 
the  date  was  not  material  after  all.  "  A  crime 
of  a  high  nature  even  may  be  charged  to  have 
been  done  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  March,  and 
proved  to  have  been  done  on  the  twenty-fourth  of 
February."  Brent  could  not  be  mistaken  as  to  the 
identity.  But  there  was  something  stronger  still 
—  the  prisoner's  own  admissions.  Even  if  it  were 
possible  for  Brent  to  be  mistaken  on  the  point  of 
identity,  such  a  mistake  on  the  prisoner's  part  was 
not  possible,  and  he  had  admitted  that  he  was 
Suttle's  slave. 

The  counsel  for  the  defence  had  contended  that, 
if  Anthony  owed  service  at  all,  it  was  not  to 
Suttle  but  to  Millspaugh.  "  If  he  is  the  man  de 
scribed,"  said  Mr.  Thomas,  "  that  is  not  open  to 
inquiry.  It  had  been  said  that  under  the  Commis 
sioner's  certificate  Anthony  might  be  carried,  not 
to  Virginia,  but  to  Cuba  or  Brazil.  They  do  not 
teh1  us  how,"  replied  Mr.  Thomas.  "  If  he  is  carried 
to  Cuba,  it  will  not  be  by  your  certificate."  It  had 
been  said  that  the  certificate  would  send  him  into 


112  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

eternal  bondage.  "  It  is  enough  to  say,"  replied 
Mr.  Thomas,  "that  it  will  send  him  to  Virginia 
whence  he  came.  When  he  gets  there,  he  will 
have  the  same  rights  that  he  had  before  he  came 
here.  If  that  State  don't  sufficiently  guard  his 
rights,  the  fault  is  not  yours  nor  mine."  It  had 
been  said  that  the  fugitive  slave  law  was  uncon 
stitutional.  But,  replied  Mr.  Thomas,  it  has  been 
held  to  be  constitutional  by  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Massachusetts,  and  by  every  judge  before  whom  a 
case  under  it  has  arisen. 

"  It  remains  only,"  said  Mr.  Thomas,  "  that  I 
recapitulate  the  points  .already  stated.  The  record 
is  conclusive  of  two  facts,  that  the  person  owed 
service,  and  that  he  escaped.  That  record,  with 
the  testimony  of  Brent  and  the  admissions  of 
Burns,  proves  the  identity.  I  take  leave  of  the 
case,  confident  in  the  proofs  presented,  confident  in 
the  majesty  of  the  law,  and  confident  that  the  de 
termination  here  will  be  just." 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Thomas's  argument, 
the  court  was  adjourned  until  Friday  morning,  the 
second  of  June. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE   DECISION. 

DURING  Thursday,  June  first,  the  popular  excite 
ment  visibly  abated.  The  unexpected  testimony 
in  behalf  of  Burns  had  produced  a  general  persua 
sion  that  the  Commissioner's  decision  would  be 
made  in  his  favor,  and  the  bare  anticipation  of  this 
had  contributed  not  a  little  to  compose  the  public 
mind.  A  single  incident,  however,  pointed  with 
ominous  certainty  to  a  different  result.  Early  on 
Friday  morning,  Burns  was  presented  with  a  com 
plete  new  suit  of  clothes  by  Butman  and  the  others 
who  had  assisted  at  his  capture.  A  foreknowledge 
of  his  impending  fate  had  betrayed  them  into  an 
act  of  generosity  which  would  never  have  been 
performed,  had  they  believed  that  he  would  be  suf 
fered  to  remain  on  the  soil  where  he  had  been 
honestly  earning  as  much,  probably,  as  any  of 
themselves.  They  imitated  the  ancient  priests  by 
adorning  the  victim  whom  they  were  about  to 
sacrifice. 

Arrayed  in  this  holiday  garb,  Burns  was  con 
ducted  for  the  last  time  into  the  United  States 
court-room.  Since  Wednesday  night,  a  double 
guard  had  been  placed  over  him,  and  they  now  at- 
10*  (113) 


114  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

tended  him  to  the  dock.  Increased  precautionary 
measures  besides  had  been  provided  by  the  Mar 
shal.  Soldiers  with  fixed  bayonets  filled  all  the 
avenues,  and  bullies  armed  with  bludgeons  and 
pistols  crowded  the  court-room.  One  at  a  time, 
members  of  the  bar,  reporters  for  the  press,  friends 
of  the  prisoner,  and  favored  citizens,  denied  beneath 
crossed  bayonets  and  occupied  their  places. 

At  nine  o'clock,  Commissioner  Loring  took  his 
seat  upon  the  bench.  His  countenance  wore  a 
haggard  and  jaded  aspect,  his  port  and  bearing 
were  not  those  of  a  judge  clear  in  his  great  office. 
Hardly  glancing  at  the  assembly  before  him,  amidst 
profound  stillness  he  immediately  began  to  read 
his  decision.  It  was  in  the  following  words : 

THE    DECISION. 

/^  The  issue  between  the  parties  arises  under  the 
United  States  statute  of  1850,  and  for  the  respon 
dent  it  is  urged  that  the  statute  is  unconstitutional. 
Whenever  this  objection  is  made,  it  becomes  ne 
cessary  to  recur  to  the  purpose  of  the  statute.  It 
purports  to  carry  into  execution  the  provision  of 
the  Constitution,  which  provides  for  the  extradition 
of  persons  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  state, 
and  escaping  to  another.  It  is  applicable,  and  it 
is  applied  alike  to  bond  and  free,  to  the  apprentice 
and  the  slave ;  and  in  reference  to  both,  its  purpose, 
provisions,  and  processes  are  the  same. 

"  The  arrest  of  the  fugitive  is  a  ministerial  and 
not  a  judicial  act,  and  the  nature  of  the  act  is  not 


THE   DECISION.  115 

altered  by  the  means  employed  for  its  accomplish 
ment.  When  an  officer  arrests  a  fugitive  from 
justice,  or  a  party  accused,  the  officer  must  deter 
mine  the  identity,  and  use  his  discretion  and  in 
formation  for  the  purpose.  When  an  arrest  is  made 
under  this  statute,  the  means  of  determining  the 
identity  are  prescribed  by  the  statute ;  but  when 
the  means  are  used  and  the  act  is  done,  it  is  still  a 
ministerial  act.  The  statute  only  substitutes  the 
means  it  provides,  for  the  discretion  of  an  arresting 
officer,  and  thus  gives  to  the  fugitive  from  service 
a  much  better  protection  than  a  fugitive  from  jus 
tice  can  claim  under  any  law. 

"  If  extradition  is  the  only  purpose  of  the  statute, 
and  the  determination  of  the  identity  is  the  only 
purpose  of  these  proceedings  under  it,  it  seems  to 
'  me  that  the  objection  of  unconstitutionality  to  the 
statute,  because  it  does  not  furnish  a  jury  trial  to 
the  fugitive,  is  answered ;  there  is  no  provision  in 
the  Constitution  requiring  that  the  identity  of  the 
person  to  be  arrested  should  be  determined  by  a 
jury.  It  has  never  been  claimed  for  apprentices  or 
fugitives  from  justice,  and  if  it  does  not  belong  to 
them,  it  does  not  belong  to  the  respondent. 

"  And  if  extradition  is  a  ministerial  act,  to  sub 
stitute,  in  its  performance,  for  the  discretion  of  an 
arresting  officer,  the  discretion  of  a  Commissioner 
instructed  by  testimony  under  oath,  seems  scarcely 
to  reach  to  a  grant  of  judicial  power,  within  the 
meaning  of  the  United  States  Constitution.  And 
it  is  certain  that  if  the  power  given  to.  and  used 


116  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

by,  the  Commissioner  of  United  States  Courts 
under  the  statute  is  unconstitutional,  then  so  was 
the  power  given  to,  and  used  by,  magistrates  of 
counties,  cities  and  towns,  and  used  by  the  act  of 
1793.  These  all  were  Commissioners  of  the  United 
States ;  the  powers  they  used  under  the  statute, 
were  not  derived  from  the  laws  of  their  respective 
states,  but  from  the  statute  of  the  United  States. 
They  were  commissioned  by  that,  and  that  alone. 
They  were  commissioned  by  the  class  instead  of 
individually  and  by  name,  and  in  this  respect  the 
only  difference  that  I  can  see  between  the  acts  of 
1793  and  1850,  is,  that  the  latter  reduced  the  num 
ber  of  appointees,  and  confined  the  appointment 
to  those  who,  by  their  professional  standing,  should 
be  competent  to  the  performance  of  their  duties, 
and  who  bring  to  them  the  certificates  of  the 
highest  judicial  tribunals  of  the  land. 

"  It  is  said  the  statute  is  unconstitutional, 
because  it  gives  to  the  record  of  the  court  of 
Virginia  an  effect  beyond  its  constitutional  effect. 
The  first  section  of  the  fourth  article  of  the  Con 
stitution  is  directory  only  on  the  State  power,  and 
as  to  the  State  courts,  and  does  not  seek  to  limit 
the  control  of  Congress  over  the  tribunals  of  the 
United  States  or  the  proceedings  therein.  Then 
in  that  article  the  term,  'records  and  judicial  pro 
ceedings,'  refers  to  such  inter  paries,  and  of  ne 
cessity  can  have  no  application  to  proceedings 
avowedly  ex  parte.  Then  if  the  first  section  in 
cludes  this  record,  it  expressly  declares  as  to 


THE   DECISION.  TlT 

' records  and  judicial  proceedings'  that  Congress 
shall  prescribe  l  the  effect  thereof J  and  this  express 
power  would  seem  to  be  precisely  the  power  that 
Congress  has  used  in  the  statute  of  1850. 

"  Other  constitutional  objections  have  been  urged 
here,  which  have  been  adjudged  and  re-adjudged  by 
the  Courts  of  the  United  States,  and  of  many  of 
the  states ;  and  the  decisions  of  these  tribunals 
absolve  me  from  considering  the  same  questions 
further  than  to  apply  to  them  the  determination 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  this  state  in  Sims'  case, 
7  Gushing  309,  that  they  *  are  settled  by  a  course 
of  legal  decisions  which  we  are  bound  to  respect, 
and  which  we  regard  as  binding  and  conclusive  on 
this  Court.' 

"  But  a  special  objection  has  been  raised  to  the 
record  that  it  describes  the  escape  as  from  the  State 
of  Virginia,  and  omits  to  describe  it  as  into  another 
State^  in  the  words  and  substance  of  the  Consti 
tution.  But  in  this  the  record  follows  the  tenth 
section  of  the  statute  of  1850,  and  the  context  of 
the  section  confines  its  action  to  cases  of  escape 
from  one  state,  &c.,  into  another,  and  is  therefore 
in  practical  action  and  extent  strictly  conformable 
to  the  Constitution. 

"  This  statute  has  been  decided  to  be  constitu 
tional  by  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  Judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts  on  the  fullest 
argument  and  maturest  deliberation,  and  to  be  the 
law  of  Massachusetts,  as  well  as,  and  because  it 
is  a  constitutional  law  of  the  United  States ;  and 


118  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

the  wise  words  of  our  revered  Chief  Justice  in  that 
case,  7  Gushing,  318,  may  well  be  repeated  now? 
and  remembered  always.  The  Chief  Justice  says: 
" '  Slavery  was  not  created,  established,  or  per 
petuated,  by  the  Constitution;  it  existed  before; 
it  would  have  existed  if  the  Constitution  had  not 
been  made.  The  framers  of  the  Constitution  could 
not  abrogate  slavery,  or  the  rights  claimed  under  it. 
They  took  it  as  they  found  it,  and  regulated  it  to 
a  limited  extent.  The  Constitution,  therefore,  is 
not  responsible  for  the  origin  or  continuance  of 
slavery ;  the  provision  it  contains  was  the  best  ad 
justment  which  could  be  made  of  conflicting  rights 
and  claims,  and  was  absolutely  necessary  to  effect 
what  may  now  be  considered  as  the  general  pacifi 
cation,  by  which  harmony  and  peace  should  take 
the  place  of  violence  and  war.  These  were  the 
circumstances,  and  this  the  spirit,  in  which  the  Con 
stitution  was  made ;  the  regulation  of  slavery,  so 
far  as  to  prohibit  States  by  law  from  harboring 
fugitive  slaves,  was  an  essential  element  in  its  for 
mation,  and  the  Union  intended  to  be  established 
by  it  was  essentially  necessary  to  the  peace,  happi 
ness,  and  highest  prosperity  of  all  the  States.  In 
this  spirit,  and  with  these  views  steadily  in  pros 
pect,  it  seems  to  be  the  duty  of  all  judges  and 
magistrates  to  expound  and  apply  these  provisions 
in  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States, 
and  in  this  spirit  it  behoves  all  persons  bound  to 
obey  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  to  consider 
and  regard  them.' 


THE  DECISION.  119 

"  It  is  said  that  the  statute,  if  constitutional,  is 
wicked  and  cruel.  The  like  charges  were  brought 
against  the  act  of  1793;  and  Chief  Justice  Parker, 
of  Massachusetts,  made  the  answer  which  Chief 
Justice  Shaw  cites  and  approves,  viz  :  — '  Whether 
the  statute  is  a  harsh  one  or  not,  it  is  not  for  us  to 
determine.' 

"  It  is  said  that  the  statute  is  so  cruel  and  wicked 
that  it  should  not  be  executed  by  good  men.  Then 
into  what  hands  shall  its  administration  fall,  and 
in  its  administration,  what  is  to  be  the  protection 
of  the  unfortunate  men  who  are  brought  within  its 
operation  ?  Will  those  who  call  the  statute  mer 
ciless,  commit  it  to  a  merciless  judge  ? 

"  If  the  statute  involves  that  right,  which  for  us 
makes  life  sweet,  and  the  want  of  which  makes 
life  a  misfortune,  shall  its  administration  be  con 
fined  to  those  who  are  reckless  of  that  right  to 
others,  or  ignorant  or  careless  of  the  means  given 
for  its  legal  defence,  or  dishonest  in  their  use  ?  If 
any  men  wish  this,  they  are  more  cruel  and  wicked 
than  the  statute,  for  they  would  strip  from  the 
fugitive  the  best  security  and  every  alleviation  the 
statute  leaves  him.1 

1  The  reasoning  in  these  two  paragraphs  presents  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  instances  of  moral  obliquity  on  record.  The  assertion 
is,  that  a  certain  statute  is  so  wicked  that  good  men  ought  not  to 
execute  it.  Judge  Loring,  on  the  other  hand,  says  that  good  men 
are  the  very  persons  to  execute  it.  Of  course  they  are  so  to  execute 
it  as  either  to  promote  or  to  defeat  its  true  intent.  Judge  Loring  will 
certainly  say  that  they  should  execute  it  after  the  former  method. 
That  is,  good  men  are  to  engage  deliberately,  and  under  oath,  in 
promoting  a  wicked  design ! 


120  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

"  I  think  the  statute  constitutional,  and  it  re 
mains  for  me  now  to  apply  it  to  the  facts  of  the 
case.  The  facts  to  be  proved  by  the  claimant  are 
three : 

"  First,  That  Anthony  Burns  owed  him  service 
in  Virginia.  Second,  That  Anthony  Bums  es 
caped  from  that  service.  These  facts  he  has  proved 
by  the  record  which  the  statute,  section  tenth, 
declares  '  shall  be  held  and  taken  to  be  full  and  con- 
elusive  evidence  of  the  fact  of  escape,  and  that  the 
service  or  labor  of  the  person  escaping  is  due  to  the 
party  in  such  record  mentioned.'  Thus  these  two 
facts  are  removed  entirely  and  absolutely  from  my 
jurisdiction,  and  I  am  entirely  and  absolutely  pre 
cluded  from  applying  evidence  to  them.  If,  there 
fore,  there  is  in  the  case  evidence  capable  of  such 
application,  I  cannot  make  it. 

"  The  third  fact  is,  the  identity  of  the  party 
before  me  with  the  Anthony  Burns  mentioned  in 
the  record. 

"  This  identity  is  the  only  question  I  have  a 
right  to  consider.  To  this,  and  to  this  alone,  I  am 
to  apply  the  evidence ;  and  the  question  whether 
the  respondent  was  in  Virginia  or  Massachusetts 
at  a  certain  time,  is  material  only  as  it  is  evidence 
on  the  point  of  identity.  So  the  parties  have  used 
it,  and  the  testimony  of  the  complainant  being  that 
the  Anthony  Burns  of  the  record  was  in  Virginia 
on  the  nineteenth  of  March  last,  the  evidence  of 
the  respondent  has  been  offered  to  show  that  he 
was  in  Massachusetts  on  or  about  the  first  of 
March  last,  and  thereafter  till  now. 


THE   DECISION.  121 

"  The  testimony  of  the  claimant  is  from  a  single 
witness,  and  he  standing  in  circumstances  that 
would  necessarily  bias  the  fairest  mind ;  but  other 
imputation  than  this  has  not  been  offered  against 
him,  and,  from  anything  that  has  appeared  before 
me,  cannot  be.  His  means  of  knowledge  are  per 
sonal,  direct,  and  qualify  him  to  testify  confidently, 
and  he  has  done  so. 

"  The  testimony  on  the  part  of  the  respondent 
is  from  many  witnesses  whose  integrity  is  admit 
ted,  and  to  whom  no  imputation  of  bias  can  be 
attached  by  the  evidence  in  the  case,  and  whose 
means  of  knowledge  are  personal  and  direct,  but 
in  my  opinion  less  full  and  complete  than  that  of 
Mr.  Brent. 

"  Then,  between  the  testimony  of  the  claimant 
and  respondent  there  is  a  conflict,  complete  and 
irreconcilable.  The  question  of  identity  on  such  a 
conflict  of  testimony  is  not  unprecedented  nor  un 
common  in  judicial  proceedings,  and  the  trial  of 
Dr.  Webster  furnished  a  memorable  instance  of  it. 

"  The  question  now  is,  whether  there  is  other 
evidence  in  this  case  which  will  determine  this 
conflict.  In  every  case  of  disputed  identity  there 
is  one  person,  always,  whose  knowledge  is  perfect 
and  positive,  and  whose  evidence  is  not  within  the 
reach  of  error ;  and  that  is  the  person  whose  iden 
tity  is  questioned,  and  such  evidence  this  case  af 
fords.  The  evidence  is  of  the  conversation  which 
took  place  between  Burns  and  the  claimant  on  the 
night  of  the  arrest. 
11 


122  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

"  When  the  claimant  entered  the  room  where 
Burns  was,  Burns  saluted  him,  and  by  his  Chris 
tian  name  :  — '  How  do  you  do,  Master  Charles  ? ' 
He  saluted  Mr.  Brent  also,  and  by  his  Christian 
name :  —  i  How  do  you  do,  Master  William ?•  (To 
the  appellation  <  Master '  I  give  no  weight.) 

"  Colonel  Suttle  said,  — '  How  came  you  here  ? ' 
Burns  said  an  accident  had  happened  to  him ;  that 
he  was  working  down  at  Roberts',  on  board  a  ves 
sel,  got  tired  and  went  to  sleep,  and  was  carried 
off  in  the  vessel.  l  Anthony,  did  I  ever  whip  you  ? ' 
— l  No,  sir.' — '  Did  I  ever  hire  you  out  where  you 
did  not  wish  to  go  ? '  — '  No,  sir.' — '  Have  you  ever 
asked  me  for  money  when  I  did  not  give  it  to  you  ? ' 
— i  No,  sir.' — '  When  you  were  sick,  did  I  not  pre 
pare  you  a  bed  in  my  own  house  and  put  you  upon 
it  and  nurse  you  ? '  — '  Yes,  sir.'  Something  was 
said  about  going  back.  He  was  asked  if  he  was 
willing  to  go  back,  and  he  said,  '  Yes,  he  was.' 

"  This  was  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Brent,  That  a 
conversation  took  place,  was  confirmed  by  the  tes 
timony  of  Caleb  Page,  who  was  present,  and  added 
the  remark,  that  Burns  said  he  did  not  come  in 
Capt.  Snow's  vessel.  The  cross-examination  of 
Brent  showed  that  Col.  Suttle  said,  '  I  make  you 
no  promises  and  I  make  you  no  threats.' 

"  To  me  this  evidence,  when  applied  to  the  ques 
tion  of  identity,  confirms  and  establishes  the  testi 
mony  of  Mr.  Brent  in  its  conflict  with  that  offered 
on  the  part  of  the  respondent ;  and  then,  on  the 
whole  testimony,  my  mind  is  satisfied  beyond  a 


THE   DECISION.  123 

reasonable  doubt  of  the  identity  of  the  respondent 
with  the  Anthony  Burns  named  in  the  record. 

"  It  was  objected  that  this  conversation  was  in 
the  nature  of  admissions,  and  that  too  of  a  man 
stupefied  by  circumstances  and  fear,  and  these  con 
siderations  would  have  weight  had  the  admissions 
been  used  to  establish  the  truth  of  the  matters  to 
which  they  referred,  i.  e.,  the  usage,  the  giving  of 
money,  nursing,  &c. ;  but  they  were  used  for  no 
such  purpose,  but  only  as  evidence  in  reference  to 
identity.  Had  they  been  procured  by  hope  or  fear 
they  would  have  been  inadmissible ;  but  of  that  I 
considered  there  was  no  evidence. 

"  On  the  law  and  facts  of  the  case,  I  consider 
the  claimant  entitled  to  the  certificate  from  me 
which  he  claims."  J 

The  Commissioner  folded  his  manuscript  and 
prepared  to  take  his  departure.  But  the  auditors 
remained  in  their  places,  and  for  some  moments 
the  dead  silence  continued  unbroken.  Then,  as  at 
a  funeral,  one  and  another  went  quietly  to  Burns, 
whispered  a  word  of  sympathy,  and  bade  him  fare 
well  ;  and  gradually,  the  court-room  was  vacated 
by  all  but  the  Marshal,  his  aids,  and  the  prisoner. 

1  Shortly  after  the  rendition  of  Burns,  an  article  was  published  in 
the  Boston  Atlas,  entitled,  "The  Decision  which  Judge  Loring 
might  have  given."  It  has  since  been  acknowledged  by  Richard  H. 
Dana,  Jr.,  to  be  his  production.  The  reader  will  find  it  worth  while 
to  compare  it  with  Judge  Loring's  actual  decision.  See  Appendix  D. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

THE   SURRENDER. 

BEFORE  ten  o'clock  the  decision  had  been  pro 
nounced.  The  act  of  rendition  alone  remained  to 
be  accomplished.  It  was  the  most  momentous 
part  of  the  whole  transaction.  In  a  community 
proverbially  devoted  to  law  and  order,  it  had  be 
come  perilous  to  attempt  the  execution  of  such  a 
judicial  sentence.  The  fact  that  a  similar  sentence 
had  once  before  been  executed  in  the  same  com 
munity,  so  far  from  making  a  repetition  of  the  act 
more  easy,  only  made  it  more  difficult.  But  the 
difficulties  had  been  immeasurably  increased  by 
the  passage  of  the  Nebraska  Bill.  All  through  the 
winter  and  spring,  the  people  of  Massachusetts 
had  been  kept  at  fever  heat  by  the  debates  in 
Congress  upon  that  daring  and  Union-shattering 
measure.  While  the  trial  of  Burns  was  going  on, 
came  the  news  of  its  passage  through  both  Houses. 
On  the  day  before  his  extradition,  the  telegraph 
announced  that  the  bill  had  received  the  President's 
signature,  and  had  become  the  supreme  law  of  the 
land.  At  such  a  juncture,  the  thrice  and  four 
times  odious  fugitive  slave  law  had  demanded 
another  victim.  It  seemed  like  adding  insult  to 

(124) 


THE   SURRENDER.  125 

injury.  At  the  moment,  many  regarded  the  arrest 
of  Burns  as  a  thing  arranged  by  the  Federal 
Government  for  the  express  purpose  of  showing  to 
the  country  that  not  even  the  passage  of  the  Ne 
braska  Bill  would  prevent  the  execution  of  the 
slave  law. 

Excited  by  this  state  of  things,  the  people  had 
thronged  to  the  trial  of  Burns  in  an  unexampled 
manner.  They  came,  not  from  Boston  only,  nor 
from  suburban  towns  only,  but  from  distant  cities 
and  villages  of  Massachusetts.1  Day  after  day, 
during  the  week  of  the  trial,  the  Square  around  the 
Court  House  had  been  filled  by  the  throng ;  but  on 
the  last  day,  and  when  it  became  known  that  the 
prisoner  was  to  be  sent  back,  the  mass  of  specta 
tors  was  swollen  to  such  an  extent  that  the  pre 
vious  multitude  seemed  as  nothing  in  comparison. 
Of  this  countless  number,  an  overwhelming  ma 
jority  were  bitterly  hostile  to  the  execution  of  the 
law ;  many  had  sworn  that  it  should  not  be  exe 
cuted  on  that  day.  In  the  face  of  such  a  formida 
ble  popular  demonstration,  it  now  became  the  duty 
of  the  federal  officers  to  remove  the  prisoner,  a 
third  of  a  mile,  from  the  Court  House  to  the  vessel 
lying  at  the  wharf. 

There  were  two  distinct  objects  to  be  accom 
plished, — the  removal  of  the  prisoner,  and  the  pre- 

1  Six  or  seven  hundred  went  down  in  a  body  from  the  city  of 
Worcester,  distant  forty-four  miles  from  Boston.     Many  of  them 
were  men  from  the  machine-shops  and  factories,  whom  no  ordinary 
motive  would  have  led  to  forsake  their  business. 
11* 


126  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

servation  of  the  peace  of  the  city.  The  charge  of 
the  former  devolved  upon  the  United  States  Mar 
shal,  that  of  the  latter  upon  the  Mayor  of  Boston. 
But  there  was  danger  of  confounding  the  two  ob 
jects  ;  special  care  was  needed  to  provide  that, 
under  the  guise  of  protecting  the  city,  the  Mayor's 
force  should  not  be  implicated  in  the  act  of  ren 
dition.  The  crisis  called  for  a  magistrate  who  fully 
understood  the  limits  of  his  official  duty  and  pos 
sessed  firmness  enough  to  maintain  his  position. 
Unfortunately,  the  Mayor's  chair  was  at  this  time 
occupied  by  one  whose  qualifications,  natural  and 
acquired,  but  ill  prepared  him  to  cope  with  the  dif 
ficulties  of  his  situation.  Bred  a  physician,  and 
transferred  at  once  from  the  routine  of  a  prac 
titioner  to  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  city,  Mayor 
Smith  had  neither  that  intimate  knowledge  of  his 
legal  responsibilities  which  the  crisis  demanded, 
nor  that  firmness  of  character  which  would  enable 
him  to  maintain  a  consistent  course.  In  the  out 
set,  he  had  committed  himself  to  the  Faneuil  Hall 
meeting.  When  the  time  for  holding  that  meeting 
arrived,  he  excused  himself  from  personally  attend 
ing  it,  but  authorized  assurances  to  be  given  of  his 
hearty  sympathy.  When  consulted  by  his  police 
men,  on  the  morning  after  the  riot,  he  informed 
them  that  they  were  to  render  no  aid  to  the  Mar 
shal  in  the  rendition  of  Burns.  Beginning  thus  on 
the  side  of  the  people,  he  yet  ended  by  involving 
himself,  the  police  of  Boston,  and  the  military  of 


THE    SURRENDER.  127 

the  Comm<fnwealth,  in  the  task  of  carrying  into 
execution  the  fugitive  slave  act. 

The  arrangements  were  concerted  and  dictated 
by  Benjamin  F.  Hallett,  Watson  Freeman,  and 
Benjamin  F.  Edmands.  Mr.  Hallett,  the  leading 
spirit  of  the  trio,  was  a  politician  in  whom  a 
strong  desire  for  popularity  among  the  masses,  was 
constantly  overmastered  by  a  stronger  desire  for 
the  patronage  of  the  Federal  Government.  Ac 
cordingly,  while  he  had  made  an  occasional  ven 
ture  to  secure  the  former,  his  heartiest  and  most 
persevering  activity  was  expended  in  pursuit  of 
the  latter.1  As  the  reward  of  his  devotion,  not  to 
say  servility,  the  Government  had  beneficed  him 
with  the  office  of  United  States  Attorney  for  the 
District  of  Massachusetts.  This  position,  he  seemed 
to  imagine,  gave  him  the  right  on  the  present 
occasion  to  direct  the  conduct,  not  only  of  other 
officers  of  the  Federal  Government,  but  also  of  the 
officers  of  the  Commonwealth.  Mr.  Freeman,  the 
Marshal,  was  a  person  in  whom  animal  courage, 
decision,  and  resoluteness  of  purpose,  were  marked 

1  At  an  earlier  period  of  his  life,  Mr.  Hallett  was,  for  three  or  four 
years,  associated  with  William  Lloyd  Garrison  in  the  promulgation 
of  the  latter's  anti-slavery  views,  and  was  as  much  entitled  to  be 
called  a  Garrisonian  as  any  other  person  of  that  party.  He  assem 
bled  with  them,  had  a  conspicuous  place  on  their  platform,  made 
speeches  for  them,  reported  their  doings  (being  a  stenographer), 
and  in  other  ways  signalized  his  zeal  in  the  cause.  Viewing  him  in 
that  stage  of  his  development  by  the  reflected  light  of  his  after  ca 
reer,  one  must  have  been  tempted  to  exclaim,  "  Is  Saul  also  among 
the  prophets  1 " 


128  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

characteristics.  Upon  him  devolved  «the  sole  re 
sponsibility  of  every  step  taken  in  the  executive 
act  of  rendition.  But  he  naturally  deferred  to  the 
law  officer  of  the  Government,  and  his  name  was 
used  to  give  sanction  to  the  plans  of  the  Attorney. 
Mr.  Edmands  was  a  major-general,  commanding 
the  first  division  of  the  Massachusetts  Volunteer 
Militia.  Leading  the  useful  but  inglorious  life  of 
a  druggist  in  State  Street  for  the  most  part  of  the 
time,  he  enjoyed  the  distinction  of  going  into 
camp  once  a  year,  and  there  receiving  the  homage 
of  his  troops.  But  holiday  shows  of  soldiery  are 
apt  to  pall,  and  Mr.  Edmands,  not  improbably, 
was  ready  to  make  the  most  of  an  occasion  that 
promised  him  the  novel  experience  of  being  en 
gaged  in  real  service.  Whatever  his  motive,  it  led 
him  into  the  grave  indecorum  of  stepping  out  of 
his  subordinate  position  as  a  military  officer,  and 
assuming  the  character  of  dictator  to  his  civil 
superior. 

Having  decided  upon  the  course  to  be  pursued, 
these  persons  threw  themselves  upon  the  Mayor, 
for  the  purpose  of  coercing  him  into  the  adoption 
of  their  measures.  They  commenced  their  efforts 
for  this  end  at  an  early  stage  of  the  trial.  They 
sought  and  obtained  personal  interviews  with  him 
at  the  City  Hall.  They  addressed  to  him  repeated 
letters  of  remonstrance  and  advice.  The  result 
was,  that  the  Mayor  abandoned  his  first  purpose, 
surrendered  his  own  judgment,  and  conformed  his 
official  conduct  to  the  programme  which  they  had 


THE  SURRENDER.  129 

marked  out.  The  correspondence  which  passed 
between  the  several  parties  clearly  developed  this 
change,  and  the  influences  by  which  it  was  ef 
fected. 

From  the  night  of  the  riot  until  the  Tuesday 
following,  two  companies  of  the  city  soldiery  had 
been  under  arms  for  the  preservation  of  the  peace. 
On  that  day,  the  Marshal  and  the  Attorney  ad 
dressed  a  formal  communication  to  the  Mayor,  de 
claring  that  force  to  be  insufficient  for  the  purpose, 
and  expressing  the  opinion  that  the  entire  com 
mand  of  Gen.  Edmands  within  the  city  would  be 
requisite.  The  Mayor's  view  of  the  case  was  the 
reverse  of  this. 

"  After  a  full  examination  of  the  condition  of 
the  city  this  morning,"  said  he,  in  a  note  to  Gen. 
Edmands,  dated  May  31st,  "  I  feel  justified  in  say 
ing  that  one  military  company  will  be  amply  suf 
ficient,  from  this  date  till  further  orders,  to  main 
tain  order  and  suppress  any  riotqus  proceedings." 

He  therefore  directed  Gen.  Edmands  to  dis 
charge  one  of  the  two  companies  at  nine  o'clock 
on  that  morning.  This  order  was  followed  by 
another,  bearing  the  same  date,  and  directed  to  the 
same  officer,  in  which,  after  declaring  that  it  had 
been  made  to  appear  to  him  that  a  mob  was  threat 
ened,  the  Mayor  commanded  Gen.  Edmands  to 
cause  an  entire  Brigade,  together  with  an  addi 
tional  corps  of  Cadets,  to  be  paraded  on  the  morn 
ing  of  June  second,  for  the  purpose  of  repressing 


130  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

the  anticipated  tumult.1  This  sudden  and  extraor 
dinary  change  of  opinion  and  conduct  was  caused 
by  no  popular  outbreak  unexpectedly  arising  after 
the  first  order  for  discharging  the  company  had 
been  issued.  The  cause  was  suggested  by  Mayor 
Smith  himself  in  his  answers  to  certain  interrogato 
ries  subsequently  made  under  oath.2  "  Mr.  Hallett 
and  Mr.  Freeman  called  upon  me,"  said  he,  "  some 
two  or  three  days  before  the  second  of  June,  and 
expressed  an  opinion  that  the  military  force  then 
on  duty  was  inadequate  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
peace  of  the  city.  I  was  soon  convinced  that  more 
force  was  necessary,  and  at  once  took  measures 
accordingly."  In  addition  to  this  personal  inter 
view,  the  Marshal  and  Attorney  addressed  to  him, 
under  date  of  May  31st,  a  joint  communication 
in  which  the  same  views  were  urged  upon  his  con 
sideration.3  The  interview  and  the  despatch  of 
the  letter  manifestly  occurred  in  the  interval  be 
tween  the  issuing  of  the  Mayor's  two  contradictory 
orders  of  that  day.  It  thus  appeared  that  while 
the  Mayor's  own  careful  observation  of  the  condi- 

1  Sec  Appendix  F. 

2  In  the  case  of  Ela  vs.  Smith  and  others,  growing  out  of  the  as 
sault  of  the  soldiers  upon  the  plaintiff. 

8  A  curious  proof  of  the  District  Attorney's  usurping  disposition 
was  disclosed  by  the  communications  which  were  addressed  to  tho 
Mayor,  by  the  Marshal  and  himself.  The  first  was  signed  by  tho 
Marshal  alone,  and  was  simply  endorsed  "  approved  "  by  Mr.  Hal 
lett.  The  second  was  signed  by  both ;  but  the  name  of  the  Mar 
shal,  who  was  the  chief  and  only  really  responsible  officer,  was 
placed  beneath  that  of  the  Attorney.  See  Appendix  G. 


THE   SURRENDER.  131 

tion  of  the  city  had  convinced  him  that  but  one 
company  of  military  was  necessary,  the  represent 
ations  of  the  United  States  officers  convinced  him, 
an  hour  or  two  after,  that  a  whole  Brigade  was 
necessary. 

The  ostensible  object  of  the  extraordinary  inter 
ference  by  the  United  States  officers  with  the 
Mayor's  functions,  was  the  preservation  of  the 
peace  of  the  city.  "  The  Marshal  does  not  ask 
any  aid  to  execute  the  fugitive  law  as  such,"  said 
that  officer  in  his  communication  of  May  30th; 
"nothing  is  required  but  the  preservation  of  the 
peace  of  the  city."  "  We  repeat  what  we  have 
before  said,  that  the  United  States  officers  do  not 
desire  you  to  execute  the  process  under  the  fugi 
tive  law  of  the  United  States,  which  devolves  on 
them  alone  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties;  but 
they  call  upon  you  as  the  conservator  of  the  peace 
of  the  city ;  "  —  so  wrote  both  the  District  Attor 
ney  and  the  Marshal  in  their  communication  of 
May  31st.  "  They  distinctly  and  explicitly  de 
clare  that  the  United  States  Government  neither 
wished  nor  asked  any  assistance  from  the  city  of 
Boston ; "  —  so  said  the  Mayor  in  his  sworn  an 
swers  at  a  subsequent  date. 

Unfortunately  for  this  pretence,  the  same  corres 
pondence  showed  that  the  design  was  to  enlist  the 
troops  of  Massachusetts,  in  effect,  though  not  in 
form,  in  the  service  of  the  United  States.  In  their 
first  communication,  the  two  functionaries  of  the 


132  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

Federal  Government,  while  disclaiming  any  au 
thority,  declared  their  belief  that  the  expenses  in 
curred  by  mustering  the  large  military  force  which 
they  called  on  the  Mayor  for,  would  be  met  by  the 
President,  The  Mayor  hesitated;  their  "belief" 
was  not  a  sufficient  guarantee.  He  addressed  to 
them  a  note  of  inquiry  touching  that  point.  In 
the  interval,  Mr.  Hallett,  still  taking  the  lead  in 
another  man's  business,  had  sought  and  obtained 
from  the  President  full  authority  for  incurring  the 
proposed  expense.1  In  the  next  communication, 
accordingly,  the  assurance  of  this  authority,  con 
firmed  by  a  copy  of  the  President's  despatch,  was 
given  to  the  Mayor.  Then  immediately  followed 
the  order  for  mustering  the  Brigade.  It  seemed 
clear,  therefore,  on  the  one  hand,  that  if,  in  the 
Mayor's  judgment,  there  had  been  a  real  necessity 
for  calling  out  a  Brigade  to  preserve  the  peace  of 
Boston,  he  would  not  have  waited  for  an  assur 
ance  that  the  expense  would  be  met  by  a  foreign 
government ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  Pres 
ident  would  not  have  felt  authorized  to  draw 
money  from  the  national  treasury  for  the  purpose 
of  preserving  the  peace  of  a  municipal  corpora- 

1  Throughout  the  whole  affair,  a  frequent  correspondence  by  tel 
egraph  was  kept  up  between  the  United  States  officers  at  Boston 
and  the  President  at  Washington.  The  zeal  and  vigor  which  the 
Federal  Executive  displayed  in  enforcing  an  odious  statute  on  this 
occasion,  stands  in  striking  contrast  to  his  indifference,  not  to  say 
connivance,  on  a  later  occasion,  at  the  most  high-handed  violation 
of  the  Constitution  and  the  laws.  See  Appendix  II. 


THE  SURRENDER.  133 

tion.1  The  tenor  of  his  note  to  Mr.  Hallett,  singu 
larly  at  variance  with  the  latter's  pretences,  placed 
the  matter  beyond  a  doubt.  "  Incur,"  said  he, 
"  any  expense  deemed  necessary  by  the  Marshal 
and  yourself  for  city  military  or  otherwise,  to  insure 
the  execution  of  the  law"  Yielding  to  a  requisi 
tion  based  upon  such  a  document,  the  Mayor  did, 
in  effect,  constitute  the  Massachusetts  troops  a 
part  of  the  Marshal's  armed  posse  comitatus. 

The  order  for  mustering  the  Brigade,  which  was 
signed  by  the  Mayor  and  directed  to  Gen.  Ed- 
mands,  was  drawn  up  by  the  latter  officer.  Dis 
trusting  his  superior's  knowledge  of  the  military 
statutes,  and  confident  of  his  own,  he  had  assumed 
the  task  of  preparing  the  formula  that  was  to 
govern  his  own  action.  A  police  captain,  upon  en 
tering  the  City  Hall  on  the  morning  of  June  first, 
met  Gen.  Edmands  descending  from  the  Mayor's 
private  room.  As  they  entered  the  Police  Office 
together,  the  military  chief  displayed  the  order 
with  the  Mayor's  signature  fresh  upon  it.  "  There," 

1  The  sum  of  fourteen  thousand  dollars,  or  thereabouts,  was  paid 
out  of  the  United  States  treasury  to  Mayor  Smith,  for  services  ren 
dered  on  this  occasion  by  the  Massachusetts  militia.  This  money 
was  paid  by  him  directly  to  the  several  companies,  without  passing 
into  the  city  treasury  or  in  any  way  coming  under  the  control  of  the 
city  government.  No  record  exists  at  the  City  Hall  that  any  such 
transaction  ever  took  place.  In  disbursing  the  money,  therefore, 
Dr.  Smith  acted,  not  in  his  capacity  as  Mayor,  or  as  magistrate,  but 
as  an  agent  of  the  Federal  Government.  He  supported  two  distinct 
characters  in  the  tragedy  —  that  of  a  Massachusetts  magistrate  in 
calling  out  the  troops,  and  that  of  a  Federal  disbursing  agent  in 
paying  them. 

12 


134  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

said  he,  "is  the  only  order  ever  yet  drawn  up 
under  which  the  military  could  legally  act ; "  and, 
with  some  disparaging  remarks  on  the  ignorance 
of  civilians  in  such  matters,  he  proceeded  to  claim 
it  as  the  triumph  of  his  own  genius.  Then,  as  if 
for  the  purpose  of  justifying  such  a  formidable 
military  demonstration  as  that  which  the  order 
contemplated,  he  turned  and  demanded  of  the 
police  captain  what  those  men  were  hid  away  for 
in  Tremont  Temple.  "  There  are  a  thousand 
armed  men  there,"  said  he.  The  policeman  doubted 
the  extraordinary  statement.  "  Yes,  there  are,"  re 
iterated  the  general  in  a  heat ;  "  a  gentleman  who 
saw  them  told  me ;  d — n  them,'7  continued  he,  with 
a  profane  zeal  worthy  of  his  cause,  "we  '11  fix 
'em."  The  thousand  men  were  "  men  in  buckram." 
Armed  with  the  authority  conveyed  by  this  pre 
cept,  Gen.  Edmands  proceeded  to  issue  his  orders 
for  assembling  the  troops.  At  half-past  eight 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  June  second,  the  whole 
force  paraded  on  Boston  Common.  It  consisted 
of  the  First  Battalion  of  Light  Dragoons,  the  Fifth 
Regiment  of  Artillery,  the  Fifth  Regiment  of 
Light  Infantry,  the  Third  Battalion  of  Light  In 
fantry,  and  the  corps  of  Cadets.  In  all,  there  were 
twenty-two  companies,  including  two  of  cavalry, 
and  not  less  than  a  thousand  soldiers.  These 
troops  were  as  fine  specimens  of  the  citizen  soldiery 
of  the  Union  as  could  anywhere  be  found.  Often 
had  they,  on  parade  days,  attracted  the  admiration 
of  their  fellow-citizens  by  their  martial  bearing, 


THE  SURRENDER.  135 

the  tasteful  splendor  of  their  uniforms,  and  the 
perfection  of  their  drill.  As  the  product  of  free 
institutions,  they  were  held  in  just  pride  by  the 
whole  community,  and  never  had  an  occasion 
arisen  to  interrupt  the  sympathy  between  the  two 
classes.  Now,  for  the  first  time,  were  these  troops 
drawn  up  in  hostile  array  against  the  people,  to 
assist  in  executing  the  most  odious  statute  that 
ever  found  a  place  in  the  archives  of  a  free  republic. 
The  spectacle  turned  the  popular  complacency  in 
their  favorites  into  indignation  and  disgust. 

A  strong  esprit  du  corps,  together  with  the  mili 
tary  maxim  of  unquestioning  obedience,  sufficed 
to  bring  out  the  companies  with  full  ranks.  But 
they  were  far  from  being  unanimous  in  their  ap 
proval  of  the  object  for  which  they  were  called 
forth.  A  keen  sense  of  the  ignominy  to  which 
they  were  subjected,  filled  the  breasts  of  some,  and 
caused  them  to  hang  their  heads  with  shame. 
Some  were  indifferent  to  the  moral  character  of 
the  occasion,  but  were  anxious  to  signalize  their 
soldiership.  Others  sympathized  with  the  slave- 
hunter  and  rejoiced  in  the  opportunity  to  render 
him  aid  with  ball  and  bayonet.  The  general  habits 
and  conduct  of  these  latter  corresponded  with  their 
disposition.  As  they  stood  in  line  on  the  Common, 
they  compromised  the  character  of  the  whole  corps 
by  their  free  use  of  intoxicating  liquor  and  the 
singing  of  ribald  songs.  At  a  later  period  in  the 
day,  a  company  or  detachment  posted  in  State 
street,  opposite  the  Exchange,  quite  bore  off  the 


136  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

palm  of  infamy  by  conduct  of  this  sort.  Filled 
with  liquor,  even  to  intoxication,  they  became  lost 
to  all  sense  of  decorum,  and,  reeling  upon  their 
gunstocks,  sang  the  chorus,  "  Oh,  carry  me  back  to 
Old  Virginny." 

The  character  and  conduct  of  the  officers  were 
as  diverse  as  those  of  the  men.  Some  went  to  the 
discharge  of  their  duty,  cursing  the  authorities 
who  had  imposed  it  upon  them.  Some  pressed 
forward  with  alacrity  as  to  congenial  business. 
Conspicuous  among  the  subalterns,  was  the  com 
mander  of  the  Light  Dragoons.  His  intemperate 
zeal  for  the  maintenance  of  law  on  this  occasion, 
was  in  striking  contrast  with  the  disposition  which 
he  manifested  at  a  later  period,  when,  at  a  convivial 
entertainment  of  the  soldiery,  he  bade  open  defiance 
to  a  recently  enacted  statute  that  was  intended  to 
deprive  him,  and  such  as  him,  of  their  favorite 
beverages.  The  day  did  not  pass  without  his  giving 
in  his  own  person  a  humiliating  proof  of  the  ne 
cessity  of  such  a  law.  While  endeavoring  to  ride 
down  a  nimble  bystander  whose  sole  offence  was 
the  expression  of  an  opinion,  he  reeled  from  his 
saddle  and  fell  prostrate  upon  the  pavement. 

The  part  to  be  performed  by  the  police  in  the 
act  of  rendition,  as  well  as  that  of  the  military, 
was  prescribed  by  the  United  States  officers.  On 
the  morning  of  Friday,  June  second,  the  Chief  of 
the  Police  summoned  his  deputy  and  the  captains 
of  the  several  stations  into  his  office,  and  locked 
the  door.  He  then  produced  a  diagram  of  Court 


THE   SURRENDER.  137 

Square,  Court  and  State  streets,  and  of  the  streets 
and  avenues  leading  into  them,  together  with  cer 
tain  written  instructions,  all  of  which  he  had  re 
ceived  from  the  Mayor.1  The  diagram,  he  in 
formed  his  subordinates,  represented  the  section  of 
the  city  which  was  to  be  entirely  cleared  of  the 
people  and  to  be  taken  possession  of  by  the  mili 
tary  and  poh'ce.  He  then  proceeded  to  impart  to 
the  assembled  captains  their  instructions.  Among 
the  number  was  Joseph  K.  Hayes,  captain  of  the 
South  Station.  This  officer  had  already  acted  a 
significant  part  in  the  business.  On  the  morning 
after  the  attack  on  the  Court  House,  he  had  called 
at  the  Chief's  office  for  orders ;  he  was  directed  to 
bring  up  fifteen  of  his  men  and  station  them  in 
the  office  of  the  Water  Registrar,  opening  upon 
the  Square.  Having  obeyed  the  order,  he  forth 
with  sought  the  Mayor,  and  inquired  what  his  men 
were  to  do. 

"  Are  we  to  help  the  slave-catchers  ?  "  said  he. 

"  No,"  replied  the  Mayor,  "  protect  the  property 
and  li ves  of  the  citizens  —  nothing  more." 

Captain  Hayes  returned  to  his  men  and  informed 
them  of  his  interview  with  the  Mayor,  and  of  the 
instructions  which  he  had  received. 

"  Now,"  continued  he,  "  I  wish  you  distinctly  to 
understand  how  much  I  shall  help  the  United 
States  in  this  business.  If  there  is  an  attempt  at 
a  rescue,  and  it  is  likely  to  fail,  I  shall  help  the 
rescuers."  In  accordance  with  his  expectation  and 

1  See  Appendix  I. 


138  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

wish,  this  speech  was  immediately  reported  to  the 
Chief  by  some  of  the  men  under  his  command. 

Mr.  Hayes  was  the  first  to  receive  his  instruc 
tions.  He  was  directed  to  take  his  men,  pass  down 
State  street,  and  notify  each  occupant  of  the  build 
ings  on  the  right,  that  by  the  Mayor's  command 
they  were  to  close  their  places  of  business.  Having 
reached  Commercial  street,  he  was  to  draw  up  his 
men  in  a  line  across  that  street,  cause  them  to  join 
hands,  and  in  that  manner  force  back  the  crowd  to 
Milk  street,  where  he  was  to  hold  them  at  all 
hazards.  Immediately  after,  a  detachment  of  mil 
itary  was  to  be  posted  across  Commercial,  at  its 
junction  with  State  street.  The  whole  space  in 
Commercial  street,  between  Milk  and  State  streets, 
would  thus  be  kept  vacant.  He  was  further  in 
structed  that,  if  his  police  force  should  be  unable  to 
maintain  their  stand  against  the  pressure  of  the 
crowd,  they  were  to  swing  back  right  and  left ; 
this  was  to  be  a  signal  to  the  military  at  the  other 
end,  who  had  instructions  instantly,  without  giving 
warning,  to  fire  upon  the  crowd. 

The  same  instructions  were  repeated  to  the  rest 
of  the  captains.  Each  was  charged  with  the  duty 
of  clearing  a  particular  street,  each  was  to  be  fol 
lowed  by  a  military  detachment,  having  orders  to 
fire  without  warning. 

Mr.  Hayes  listened  attentively  to  this  programme. 
"  Mr.  Chief,"  said  he,  "  does  not  this  look  like  help 
ing  to  carry  off  Burns  ?  "  The  Chief,  with  some 
embarrassment,  made  an  indistinct  reply.  Just 


THE  SURRENDER.  139 

then  a  tap  was  made  on  the  door.  Upon  its  being 
opened,  the  Mayor  entered,  and  bowing  to  those 
present  said : 

"  The  Commissioner  has  just  entered  the  court 
room  to  give  his  decision,  and  has  required  me  to 
see  that  the  Square  and  the  various  avenues  are 
cleared."  Then,  instructing  the  Chief  forthwith  to 
attend  to  that  duty,  he  withdrew.  Mr.  Hayes  again 
spoke : 

"  The  Commissioner  gives  directions  to  the 
Mayor,  the  Mayor  to  the  Chief  of  Police,  the  Chief 
to  his  captains,  they  to  their  men ;  this  is  a  pretty 
strong  chain  binding  us  to  the  act  of  rendition." 

Without  further  words,  he  retired  to  another 
room,  wrote  a  resignation  of  his  office,  and  then, 
entering  the  Mayor's  private  apartment,  placed  it 
in  his  hands.  Greatly  agitated,  the  Mayor  en 
treated  him  to  revoke  it,  but  Mr.  Hayes  had  not 
acted  hastily,  and  remained  immovable.  Taking 
a  copy  of  his  resignation,  he  carried  it  to  the  office 
of  one  of  the  newspaper  presses,  which,  during  this 
memorable  occasion,  were  throwing  off  editions  at 
all  hours  of  the  day,  and  within  an  hour's  time  it 
was  scattered  over  the  whole  city.1 

The  resignation  of  Mr.  Hayes  seriously  deranged 
the  plans  of  the  Mayor  and  his  advisers.  They 
had  intended  to  disguise  the  employment  of  the 
military  by  pushing  the  police  prominently  forward. 

1  This  act,  so  rare  in  the  history  of  official  life,  involved  the  sacri 
fice,  not  only  of  assured  position,  but  also  of  the  most  nattering  pros 
pects.  But  it  had  its  reward.  See  Appendix  J. 


140  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

The  police  were  to  clear  the  streets,  they  only  were 
to  come  in  contact  with  the  people  and  force  them 
back  beyond  the  outer  barrier  of  the  reserved  sec 
tion.  When  this  was  complete  and  the  space 
clear,  the  military  were  to  march  in  and  take  up 
the  several  positions  assigned  them.  The  failure 
of  the  police  to  accomplish  their  part  of  the  task 
made  it  necessary  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the  military. 
The  selection  of  the  officer  to  whom  the  business 
was  entrusted,  was  significant  of  the  influences 
that  controlled  the  proceedings.  This  was  Isaac  H. 
Wright.  He  was  one  of  the  very  few  men  of  Mas 
sachusetts  who  had  set  at  naught  the  principles  of 
their  fathers  by  volunteering  in  the  war  with  Mex 
ico.  The  fellow-officer  of  Gen.  Pierce  in  that 
wicked  raid,  his  equal  in  military  skill,  not  less  his 
equal  in  moral  character,  scarcely  his  inferior  as  a 
claimant  upon  his  party  for  promotion,  of  congenial 
habits,  and  like  him  often  hazarding  all  upon  a  pow 
erful  flow  of  spirits,  he  was  yet,  unlike  him,  made  to 
feel  full  sorely  the  caprice  of  Democracy  in  the  distri 
bution  of  political  favors.  For  while  Gen.  Pierce, 
returning  from  the  plains  of  Mexico,  had  been 
wafted  into  the  Presidential  Chair  by  prosperous 
winds  blowing  from  all  quarters,  Col.  Wright  was 
left  to  exchange  the  sword  for  the  hammer  and  to 
settle  down  into  the  humdrum  life  of  an  auctioneer. 
He  was  now,  however,  the  captain  of  the  Light 
Dragoons,  and  no  officer  in  all  the  Massachusetts 
troops  was  more  ready  to  assist  in  the  execution 
of  the  fugitive  slave  act  than  himself.  In  commit- 


THE   SURRENDER.  141 

ting  to  him  and  his  mounted  Dragoons  the  duty 
of  driving  the  citizens  from  their  thoroughfares  and 
places  of  business,  the  authorities  could  not  expect 
that  any  tenderness  would  temper  their  zeal. 

In  the  midst  of  these  preparations,  the  city  was 
electrified  by  the  following  proclamation  which 
was  posted  at  the  corners  of  the  streets : 

TO    THE    CITIZENS    OF    BOSTON.1 

To  secure  order  throughout  the  city  this  day, 
Major- General  Edmands  and  the  Chief  of  Police 
will  make  such  disposition  of  the  respective  forces 
under  their  commands  as  will  best  promote  that 
important  object ;  and  they  are  clothed  with  full 
discretionary  power  to  sustain  the  laws  of  the  land. 
All  well-disposed  citizens  and  other  persons  are 
urgently  requested  to  leave  those  streets  which  it 
may  be  found  necessary  to  clear  temporarily,  and 
under  no  circumstances  to  obstruct  or  molest  any 
officer,  civil  or  military,  in  the  lawful  discharge  of 
his  duty.  J.  V.  C.  SMITH,  Mayor. 

BOSTON,  June  2,  1854. 

By  this  proclamation  the  whole  city  was  in  effect 
placed  under  martial  law.  It  notified  the  citizens 
that  the  Mayor  had,  for  the  time,  delegated  his 
power  to  a  military  officer  and  abdicated  his  office. 
The  legality  of  this  step  was  afterward  seriously 
called  in  question.  Among  others  who  took  this 

1  This  proclamation  was  printed  before  the  Commissioner's  deci 
sion  had  been  pronounced. 


142  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

ground,  was  Peleg  W.  Chandler,  then  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Executive  Council  of  the  Common 
wealth,  and  previously,  Solicitor  for  the  city  of 
Boston.  In  an  argument  that  never  was  refuted, 
he  examined  the  Mayor's  whole  course  in  relation 
to  the  military,  and  maintained  that  in  several  par 
ticulars  he  had  acted  without  warrant  of  law.1 

About  eleven  o'clock,  the  troops  on  the  Common 
received  orders  to  move  down  into  Court  and  State 
streets.  Each  man  had  been  supplied  with  eleven 
rounds  of  powder  and  ball,  and,  before  moving,  they 
proceeded  to  load  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled 
spectators.  Then,  without  music,  they  marched 
down  through  the  above-named  streets,  dropping 
off  detachments  at  the  several  side  streets,  until  the 
whole  were  posted. 

Meanwhile,  the  Marshal  had  been  making  his 
own  preparations.  One  hundred  and  twenty-five 
men  were  sworn  in  as  specials.  Some  of  these 
were  tide-waiters,  truckmen,  and  other  dependents 
upon  the  Custom  House ;  all  were  taken  from  the 
least  reputable  portion  of  the  citizens  of  Boston. 
No  better  could  be  obtained.  So  great  had  been 
the  change  in  public  opinion  since  the  extradition 
of  Sims,  when  merchants,  bankers,  ship-owners, 
and  others  of  repute  had  pressed  forward  with 
offers  of  personal  service  in  forcing  back  that  hap 
less  negro  into  slavery  and  death.  These  specials 

1  See  Boston  Atlas  of  June  12th  and  16th,  1854.  I  much  regret 
that  the  length  of  this  able  argument  precludes  its  insertion  in  this 
volume. 


THE   SURRENDER.  143 

were  assembled  in  the  Court  House,  and  armed 
with  cutlasses,  pistols,  and  billies.  They  were  then 
placed  under  the  command  of  one  Peter  T.  Dun- 
bar,  a  Custom  House  truckman,  who  led  them  into 
an  upper  hall  of  the  building,  and  there  drilled  them 
in  marching  and  other  exercises  before  the  door  of 
Burns's  cell.  Besides  these,  the  Marshal  had  assem 
bled  five  companies  of  United  States  troops,  num 
bering  one  hundred  and  forty  men ;  and,  to  com 
plete  his  array,  a  brass  cannon  had  been  transported 
from  the  Navy  Yard  in  Charlestown,  at  early  dawn, 
and  planted  in  the  Square. 

At  eleven  o'clock,  Court  Square  presented  a 
spectacle  that  became  indelibly  engraved  upon  the 
memories  of  men.  The  people  had  been  swept 
out  of  the  Square,  and  stood  crowded  together  in 
Court  street,  presenting  to  the  eye  a  solid  ram 
part  of  living  beings.  At  the  eastern  door  of  the 
Court  House,  stood  the  cannon,  loaded,  and  with 
its  mouth  pointed  full  upon  the  compact  mass. 
By  its  side  stood  the  officer  commanding  the  de 
tachment  of  United  States  troops,  gazing  with  r 
steady  composure  in  the  same  direction.  It  was 
the  first  time  that  the  armed  power  of  the  United 
States  had  ever  been  arrayed  against  the  people 
of  Massachusetts.  Men  who  witnessed  the  sight, 
and  reflected  upon  its  cause,  were  made  painfully 
to  recognize  the  fact,  before  unfelt,  that  they  were 
the  subjects  of  two  governments. 

After  the  decision,  Bums  remained  in  the  court 
room  awaiting  the  hour  of   his  departure.     The 


144  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

retainers  of  the  Marshal  crowded  around  him  with 
attempts  at  consolation.  His  guards  especially 
endeavored  to  cheer  his  spirits.  They  gave  him 
four  dollars ;  they  assured  him  that  it  was  their 
intention  to  purchase  his  freedom ;  they  had  made 
arrangements  with  his  owner,  they  said,  and  had 
already  obtained  four  hundred  dollars  toward  the 
object.  To  all  these  professions  and  promises 
Burns  paid  little  heed ;  they  came  from  the  same 
men  who  had  captured  him.  At  length,  Deputy 
Marshal  Rlley  entered  the  room  and  ordered  him 
to  be  handcuffed.  Burns  earnestly  remonstrated 
against  the  indignity ;  he  gave  assurances  that  he 
would  pass  through  the  streets  quietly,  if  allowed 
to  go  unshackled,  otherwise,  he  threatened  to 
make  every  demonstration  of  violence  in  his 
power.  Butman  thereupon  left  the  room,  and 
sought  the  Marshal's  permission  to  dispense  with 
the  instruments  of  disgrace ;  and,  in  spite  of  counsel 
to  the  contrary  from  some  cowardly  adviser  who 
stood  by,  the  request  was  granted.  The  slavery 
into  which  Burns  was  returning  was  an  evil  which 
he  had  borne  from  the  cradle,  but  the  iron  fetters 
were  symbols  of  disgrace  which  his  unbroken  spirit 
was  not  prepared  to  endure. 

One  o'clock  had  arrived,  and  yet  the  movement 
of  the  cortege  was  delayed.  Meanwhile,  Gen. 
Edmands  had  from  time  to  time  dashed  into  the 
Square,  and,  dismounting,  held  hurried  conferences 
with  the  Marshal  in  the  building.  A  bystander 
who  heard  their  conversation,  learned  that  the 


THE  SURRENDER.  4. 

delay  was  caused  by  the  General's  inability  to 
clear  the  streets,  and  his  fear  of  being  unable  to 
accomplish  the  task  he  had  undertaken. 

At  length,  about  two  o'clock,  the  column  was 
formed  in  the  Square.  First  came  a  detach 
ment  of  United  States  Artillery,  followed  by  a 
platoon  of  United  States  Marines.  After  these 
followed  the  armed  civil  posse  of  the  Marshal,  to 
which  succeeded  two  platoons  of  Marines.  The 
cannon,  guarded  by  another  platoon  of  Marines, 
brought  up  the  rear.  When  this  arrangement  was 
completed,  Burns,  accompanied  by  a  officer  on  each 
side  with  arms  interlocked,  was  conducted  from 
his  prison  through  a  passage  lined  with  soldiers, 
and  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  armed  posse.  Im 
mediately  after  the  decision,  Mr.  Dana  and  Mr. 
Grimes  had  asked  permission  to  walk  with  Burn's 
arm  in  arm,  from  the  Court  House  to  the  vessel 
at  the  wharf;  and  the  Marshal  had  given  them  his 
consent.  At  the  last  moment,  he  sought  them  out 
and  requested  that  they  would  not  insist  upon  the 
performance  of  his  promise,  because,  in  the  opinion 
of  some  of  the  military  officers,  such  a  spectacle 
would  add  to  the  excitement.  Mr.  Dana  declined 
to  release  the  Marshal  from  his  promise.  The 
latter  persisted  in  urging  the  abandonment  of  the 
purpose. 

"  Do  I  understand  you,"  asked  Mr.  Dana,  "  to 
say  distinctly  that  we  shall  not  accompany  Burns, 
after  having  given  your  promise  that  we  might  ?  " 

The  Marshal  winced  under  the  pressure  of  this 

13 


146  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

pointed  question,  but  after  a  momentary  reluctance 
answered  firmly,  "  Yes."  Accordingly,  without  a 
single  friend  at  his  side,  and  hemmed  in  by  a  thick 
set  hedge  of  gleaming  blades,  Burns  took  his 
departure. 

The  route  from  the  Court  House  to  the  wharf 
had  by  this  time  become  thronged  with  a  countless 
multitude.  It  seemed  as  if  the  whole  population 
of  the  city  had  been  concentrated  upon  this  nar 
row  space.  In  vain  the  military  and  police  had 
attempted  to  clear  the  streets ;  the  carriage-way 
alone  was  kept  vacant.  On  the  sidewalks  in 
Court  and  State  streets,  every  available  spot  was 
occupied ;  all  the  passages,  windows,  and  balconies, 
from  basement  to  attic,  overflowed  with  gazers, 
while  the  roofs  of  the  buildings  were  black  with 
human  beings.  It  was  computed  that  not  less 
than  fifty  thousand  people  had  gathered  to  witness 
the  spectacle. 

At  different  points  along  the  route,  were  dis 
played  symbols  significant  of  the  prevailing  senti 
ment.  A  distinguished  member  of  the  Suffolk 
Bar,  whose  office  was  directly  opposite  the  court 
room,  and  who  was,  at  the  time,  commander  of 
the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery,  draped  his 
windows  in  mourning.  The  example  was  quickly 
followed  by  others.  From  a  window  opposite  the 
Old  State  House,  was  suspended  a  black  coffin, 
upon  which  was  the  legend,  The  Funeral  of  Lib~ 
erty.  At  a  point  farther  on  toward  the  wharf, 


THE  SURRENDER.  147 

a  venerable  merchant  had  caused  a  rope  to  be 
stretched  from  his  own  warehouse  across  State 
street  to  an  opposite  point,  and  the  American  flag, 
draped  in  mourning,  to  be  suspended  therefrom 
with  the  union  down.  On  looking  forth  from  his 
window  some  time  after,  he  saw  a  man  intent  on 
casting  a  cord  over  the  rope,  for  the  purpose  of 
tearing  down  the  flag. 

"  Rascal ! "  shouted  the  old  man,  as  he  sallied 
forth  with  his  long  white  hair  streaming  behind, 
"  desist,  or  I  '11  prosecute  you." 

"  I  am  an  American,"  answered  the  other,  "  and 
am  not  going  to  see  the  flag  of  my  country  dis 
graced." 

"  I  too  am  an  American,  and  a  native  of  this 
city,"  retorted  the  State  street  merchant,  "and  I 
declare  that  my  country  is  eternally  disgraced  by 
this  day's  proceedings.  That  flag  hangs  there  by 
my  orders:  touch  it  at  your  peril."  The  flag  re 
mained,  until  the  transaction  of  which,  in  its  dis 
honor,  it  was  a  fit  emblem,  was  fully  ended. 

Along  this  Via  Dolorosa,  with  its  cloud  of  wit 
nesses,  the  column  now  began  to  move.  No 
music  enlivened  its  march ;  the  dull  tramp  of  the 
soldiers  on  the  rocky  pavements,  and  the  groans 
and  hisses  of  the  bystanders,  were  the  only  sounds. 
As  it  proceeded,  its  numbers  were  swelled  by 
unexpected  additions.  Unauthorized,  the  zealous 
commander  of  the  mounted  Dragoons  joined  it 
with  his  corps.  The  Lancers,  jealous  of  their 


148  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

rivals,  hastened  to  follow  the  example :  thus  van 
guard  and  rear-guard  consisted  of  Massachusetts 
troops.  In  its  progress,  it  went  past  the  Old  State 
House,  where,  in  1646,  the  founders  of  the  Com 
monwealth  enacted  that  solemn  condemnation  of 
human  slavery,  which  stands  at  the  beginning  of 
this  volume.1  Just  below,  it  passed  over  the 
ground  where,  in  the  Massacre  of  1770,  fell 
Attucks,  the  first  negro  martyr  in  the  cause  of 
American  liberty. 

Opposite  the  Custom  House,  the  column  turned 
at  a  right  angle  into  another  street.  This  cross 
movement  suddenly  checked  the  long  line  of  spec 
tators  which  had  been  pressing  down  State  street, 
parallel  with  the  other  body ;  but  the  rear  portion, 
not  understanding  the  nature  of  the  obstruction, 
continued  to  press  forward,  and  forced  the  front 
from  the  sidewalk  into  the  middle  of  the  Street. 
To  the  chafed  and  watchful  military,  this  move 
ment  wore  the  aspect  of  an  assault  on  the  cortege  ; 
instantly  some  Lancers,  stationed  near,  rode  their 
horses  furiously  at  the  surging  crowd,  and  hacked 
with  their  sabres  upon  the  defenceless  heads 
within  their  reach.  Immediately  after,  a  detach 
ment  of  infantry  charged  upon  the  dense  mass,  at 
a  run,  with  fixed  bayonets.  Some  were  pitched 
headlong  down  the  cellar-ways,  some  were  forced 
into  the  passages,  and  up  flights  of  stairs,  and 

1  This  remark  applies  not  to  the  building,  but  to  the   spot  on 
which  it  stands.     The  present  structure  was  erected  in  1748. 


THE  SURRENDER.  149 

others  were  overthrown  upon  the  pavement,  bruised 
and  wounded. 1 

While  this  was  passing,  the  procession  moved 
on  and  reached  the  wharf.  A  breach  of  trust  had 
secured  to  the  Federal  authorities  the  use  of  this 
wharf  for  their  present  purpose.  It  was  the  prop 
erty  of  a  company,  by  whom  it  had  been  commit 
ted  in  charge  to  an  agent.  Without  their  knowl 
edge  and  against  their  wishes,  he  had  granted  to 
the  Marshal  its  use  on  this  occasion.  When 
arraigned  afterward  by  his  employers  for  such 
betrayal  of  trust,  he  replied  that  he  had  since 
been  rewarded  by  an  appointment  to  a  place  in 
the  Custom  House. 

At  the  end  of  the  wharf  lay  a  small  steamer 

1  The  assaults  of  the  soldiers  on  the  bystanders  resulted  in  serious 
injury  to  several  persons.  One,  A.  L.  Haskell,  was  attacked  by 
Capt.  Evans  with  a  drawn  sword,  and  cut  on  the  back  of  the  hand, 
for  hissing  and  crying  "  shame."  Holding  up  to  view  his  bleeding 
hand,  Mr.  Haskell  asked  the  officer  his  name  and  business.  Capt. 
Evans  gave  his  name,  and  to  the  inquiry  touching  his  business, 

replied,  "to  kill  just  such  d d  rascals  as  you  are."    A  man 

named  John  Milton  had  his  head  laid  open  by  a  sabre  cut,  and  was 
borne  off  to  the  hospital,  where  he  lay  for  several  weeks.  But  the 
most  aggravated  case  was  that  of  William  H.  Ela.  While  attempt 
ing  to  proceed  quietly  about  his  own  business,  he  was  assaulted  by 
soldiers ;  beaten  on  the  head  with  muskets ;  cut  and  bruised  in  the 
face ;  knocked  down  upon  the  pavement ;  and  finally  carried  off 
and  placed  in  confinement.  These  injuries  impaired  his  mind  to 
such  an  extent,  that  he  was  unable  to  go  on  with  the  business  in 
which  he  was  previously  engaged,  and  which  was  his  chief  depend 
ence  for  a  livelihood.  He  afterward  brought  an  action  against 
Mayor  Smith  and  others,  for  the  assault,  which  became  important 
as  testing  a  question  of  law,  and  also  as  bringing  to  light  material 
facts  relating  to  the  extradition  of  Burns. 
13* 


150  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

which  had  been  chartered  by  the  United  States 
Government.  On  board  this  vessel  Burns  was 
conducted  by  the  Marshal,  and  immediately  with 
drawn  from  the  sight  of  the  gazing  thousands  into 
the  cabin  below.  The  United  States  troops  fol 
lowed,  and,  after  an  hour's  delay,  the  cannon  was 
also  shipped.  At  twenty  minutes  past  three 
o'clock,  the  steamer  left  the  wharf,  and  went  down, 
the  harbor. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  BURNS. 

ANTHONY  BURNS  was  born  in  Stafford  county, 
Virginia.  This  county  lies  on  the  Potomac  river, 
midway  between  the  birth-place  and  the  burial- 
place  of  Washington.  Washed  by  one  of  the 
noblest  rivers  in  the  Union^  for  commercial  pur 
poses,  and  with  an  excellent  soil  and  climate,  it 
has  not  only  failed  to  keep  pace  \vijn  the  general 
prosperity  of  the  country,  but  has  even  gone  back 
ward.  In  1850,  its  population  was  nearly  half  a 
thousand  less  than  aTthe  close  of  the  preceding 
decade ;  the  whole  number  of  persons,  bond  and 
free,  then  scattered  over  its  surface  of  three  hun 
dred  and  thirty-five  square  miles,  was  only  8044. 
It  has  shared,  perhaps,  only  proportionably  in  the 
decay  which  slavery  has  wrought  in  the  whole 
eastern  section  of  the  Old  Dominion. 

The  seat  of  justice  in  this  little  county  is  a  vil 
lage  of  eighty  or  ninety  houses  clustered  around 
the  Court  House.  At  this  place,  twenty-three  years 
ago,  resided  a  slaveholder  named  John  Suttle.  He 
was  the  owner  of  twelve  or  fifteen  slaves,  the  male 
portion  of  whom  he  employed  in  quarrying  stone  for 
the  city  of  Washington.  Among  the  number  was 

(151) 


152  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

the  mother  of  Anthony,  who  was  employed  in  the 
family  as  a  cook.  She  had  been  married  to  three 
husbands,  by  whom  she  had  borne  thirteen  children, 
thus  proving  herself  to  be  a  valuable  piece  of  prop 
erty  for  her  owner.  Her  last  husband  was  a  man 
of  more  than  ordinary  intelligence,  and  had  been 
entrusted  by  his  owner  with  a  sort  of  supervision 
over  other  laborers  in  the  quarry.  It  was  whispered 
about  among  his  fellow-bondmen  that  he  had  once 
been  a  freeman  and  had  come  from  the  North,  but 
nothing  was  known  with  certainty  on  this  point. 

Anthony  was  this  man's  son  and  the  youngest 
of  his  mother's  children.  Before  he  could  remem 
ber,  the  death  of  his  father,  caused  by  inhaling  the 
stone  dust  of  the  quarry,  had  occurred,  and  he  re 
mained  as  his  mother's  consolation.  While  he 
was  yet  a  little  child  lying  about  the  kitchen  hearth, 
Mr.  Suttle  died,  and  his  widow  became  the  head 
of  the  family.  Under  her  management,  the  estate 
did  not  prosper,  and,  to  relieve  herself  from  embar 
rassment,  she  sold  a  portion  of  the  slaves,  five  of 
whom  were  the  children  of  Burns's  mother.  Not 
long  after,  the  family  removed  to  Acquia,  a  small 
hamlet  lying  five  or  six  miles  north  of  Stafford 
Court  House.  This  change  of  place  did  not 
brighten  their  prospects.  The  temper  of  the  dame 
did  not  improve  under  continued  adverse  fortune, 
and  in  her  fits  of  ill  humor  she  was  wont '  to  vent 
her  spleen  upon  Anthony's  mother.  Frequently 
she  would  threaten  to  sell  the  woman  by  the  sale 
of  whose  children  she  had  already  been  kept  from 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  BURNS.        153 

bankruptcy ;  and  at  length  so  far  carried  her  threat 
into  execution  as  to  hire  her  out  to  labor  in  a  dis 
tant  city.  The  mother  pleaded  hard  for  leave  to 
take  her  little  boy  Anthony  with  her,  but  this  boon 
was  denied ;  the  youngster  might  be  made  a  source 
of  profit  at  home.  For  two  years  they  were  not 
permitted  to  see  each  other.  At  the  end  of  that 
period,  Mrs.  Suttle  made  a  journey  to  the  city  to 
receive  the  wages  of  her  slave,  and  on  this  occasion 
was  gracious  enough  to  take  Anthony  with  her. 

When  he  was  about  six  years  old,  Mrs.  Suttle 
suddenly  died.  The  settlement  of  her  affairs  fell  into 
the  hands  of  her  eldest  son,  Charles  F.  Suttle,  who 
found  it  necessary,  in  order  to  save  them  from  utter 
ruin,  to  mortgage  the  slaves  and  raise  money  for 
the  payment  of  the  debts.  Mr.  Suttle  and  his 
family  held  a  respectable  position  in  society,  but  a 
strict  classification  would  not  have  assigned  them 
a  place  among  the  First  Families  of  Virginia.  His 
business  was  that  of  a  shopkeeper,  to  which  he 
united  that  of  a  deputy  sheriff;  ultimately,  he  at 
tained  to  the  dignity  of  high  sheriff  for  his  county. 
At  one  time  he  was  fortunate  enough  to  be  chosen 
as  the  representative  of  his  district  in  the  Virginia 
Assembly.  To  these  civic  distinctions  were  added 
military  honors ;  he  rose  through  lower  grades  to 
the  post  of  colonel  in  the  Virginia  militia,  under 
which  designation  he  first  became  known  to  the 
great  world.  Of  a  powerful  frame,  well  filled  out, 
of  commanding  stature,  and  a  heavy,  Cass-like 
countenance,  he  was  well  fitted  for  situations 


154  ANTHONY    BURNS. 

which  did  not  require  intellectual  so  much  as  phy 
sical  superiority. 

Such  was  the  man  who  now  became  the  pro 
prietor  and  master  of  Anthony.  The  boy  was 
inured  betimes  to  labor,  but  his  earliest  tasks  were 
light.  A  wise  slaveholder  would  as  soon  think  of 
putting  a  six  month's  colt  upon  the  race-course,  as 
of  overtaxing  the  tender  and  growing  muscles  of 
his  young  slaves.  Anthony's  juvenile  contribution 
to  his  owner's  annual  income  consisted  in  "nurs 
ing  "  his  sister's  baby,  she  being  thereby  left  free 
to  pursue  her  toil  without  interruption.  In  this 
capacity  he  accompanied  her  to  the  house  of  one 
Horton,  to  whom  she  had  been  hired.  It  was 
while  there  that  he  acquired  the  first  rudiments  of 
learning.  A  sister  of  Horton  kept  a  school  in  her 
house  hard  by,  and  with  the  children  attending  it 
Anthony  was  frequently  brought  in  contact.  He 
rendered  them  little  personal  services,  and  in  true 
juvenile  sodality  and  in  defiance  of  Virginia  law, 
they,  at  his  request,  taught  him  the  alphabet  from 
a  primer  which  one  had  given  him. 

At  the  age  of  seven,  he  was  set  to  work  directly 
to  earn  money  for  his  owner,  being  then  hired  out 
to  three  maiden  ladies  for  fifteen  dollars  a  year. 
His  principal  duties  in  this  new  situation  were  to 
wait  in  the  house,  to  run  of  errands,  and  to  ride  to 
the  distant  mill  for  a  weekly  supply  of  the  indis 
pensable  corn  meal.  His  mistresses  were  not 
unkind,  and  being  religiously  disposed,  they  even  at 
tempted  once  or  twice  to  impart  to  him  some  know- 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  BURNS.        155 

ledge  of  the  Bible ;  but  their  efforts  were  too  slight 
to  produce  any  impression.  When  the  year  of  his 
engagement  had  elapsed,  he  was  hired  to  another 
person,  living  some  miles  distant,  for  twenty-five 
dollars  a  year.  Another  opportunity  for  picking 
up  some  scraps  of  learning  was  here  afforded, 
which  Anthony  did  not  fail  to  improve.  The  wife 
of  his  new  master  kept  a  school  in  her  house, 
bringing  spelling-books  and  other  educational  ap 
paratus  directly  before  the  eyes  of  the  young  slave. 
His  thirst  for  knowledge  was  thus  whetted,  and  by 
performing  antics  and  drolleries  for  the  amusement 
of  the  children,  he  induced  them  to  teach  him  how 
to  spell.  What  to  them  was  an  irksome  task,  was 
to  him  a  chosen  reward.  In  this  situation  he  re 
mained  two  years,  and  so  well  satisfied  was  his 
master  with  his  good  conduct  that  he  made  ar 
rangements  to  hire  him  for  a  third  .year.  Anthony, 
however,  was  of  a  different  mind ;  he  had  been  in 
some  respects  shabbily  treated,  and  consequently 
refused  to  remain.  In  this  conclusion  his  owner, 
after  hearing  his  story,  acquiesced. 

He  now  went  to  live  with  William  Brent,  at 
Falmouth  on  the  Rappahannock  river.  This  man, 
who  afterward  rescued  his  name  from  obscurity  by 
becoming  a  swift  witness  against  Burns,  was  not 
at  that  time  a  person  of  much  renown  in  his  native 
region.  The  husband  of  a  young  lady  of  some 
fortune,  he  lived  in  her  mansion,  was  served  by  her 
slaves,  and  made  himself  merry  with  eating  and 
drinking  at  her  expense.  The  chase  and  other 


156  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

social  and  spendthrift  pastimes  constituted  at  that 
time  the  business  of  his  life.  His  wife  was  a 
woman  of  superior  endowments,  and,  what  was 
more  to  her  credit,  she  treated  her  slaves  with  great 
Idndness.  To  Anthony  she  was  especially  indul 
gent,  and  he  always  spoke  of  her  afterward  in  terms 
of  affection  and  respect.  With  these  people  he 
remained  two  years,  earning  for  his  owner  fifty 
dollars  each  year ;  and  so  well  pleased  was  Brent 
with  the  bright,  active  young  slave,  that  he  pro 
ceeded  to  make  a  verbal  agreement  to  hire  him  for 
a  third  year.  To  this  arrangement,  however,  An 
thony  refused  his  assent,  agreeable  as  the  prospect 
was  when  measured  by  a  slave's  standard.  A 
more  powerful  motive  than  love  of  personal  ease 
had  already  begun  to  operate  in  his  bosom.  While 
a  very  young  boy,  he  had  overheard  the  "  elders  " 
of  his  people  discoursing  among  themselves  about 
the  good  land  far  away  to  the  north  where  no 
slaves  were,  and  where  all  of  the  negro  race  were 
as  free  as  their  white  brethren.  Such  conversations 
had  kindled  a  fire  in  his  young  breast  that  never 
went  out.  He  longed  for  the  freedom  of  that  far 
away  land,  which  his  untutored  imagination  in 
vested  with  exaggerated  glories.  As  he  grew  in 
years,  his  passion  for  freedom  also  grew,  and  grad 
ually,  it  took  on  the  form  of  a  definite  purpose. 
Then  he  began  to  cast  about  for  the  method  of  its 
accomplishment,  and  his  natural  love  of  learning 
received  an  additional  stimulus  from  the  reflection 
that  the  more  he  knew  of  letters  the  better  fitted 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OP  BURNS.        157 

he  would  be  to  execute  his  cherished  design.  With 
the  same  end  in  view,  he  formed  the  resolution 
never  to  abide  long  with  the  same  master,  so  that 
when  he  should  at  length  flee  from  bondage,  there 
might  be  less  chance  of  identifying  him.  It  was 
this  that  now  led  him  to  refuse  any  longer  to 
remain  with  the  easy  and  indulgent  Brents. 

On  meeting  his  owner,  Suttle,  near  the  close  of 
the  year,  the  latter  greeted  him  with  compliments. 

"  Well,  'Tony,  Mr.  Brent  speaks  very  well  of 
you.  He  likes  you  so  well  that  he  has  hired  you 
for  another  year." 

"  But,  Mas'r  Charles,  I  have  n't  hired  him"  said 
Anthony,  with  the  confident  tone  of  a  slave  con 
scious  of  standing  well  with  his  master. 

"  What 's  the  matter  ?  Has  n't  he  treated  you 
well?" 

"  Yes,  mas'r,  but  —  "  Some  reason,  though  of 
course  not  the  real  one,  was  assigned. 

"  Well,  it  can't  be  helped  now,  for  I  Ve  agreed  to 
let  you  stop  with  Mr.  Brent ;  and  besides,  he  pays 
more  for  you  than  he  did  last  year." 

"  Jes'  you  say,  mas'r.  The  woods  is  big  enough 
to  hold  me." 

The  argumentum  a  sylva  is  a  prevailing  one  with 
the  slaveholder.  Col.  Suttle  yielded,  and  the  bar 
gain  was  broken  up.  He  knew  that  it  was  better 
for  his  own  interest  to  humor  his  slave  in  the  choice 
of  his  field  of  labor,  than  to  run  the  risk  of  trouble 
and  loss  by  thwarting  his  inclinations.  Long  and 
sore  experience  has  taught  the  enlightened  slave- 
14 


158  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

holders  of  the  south,  that  one  willing  slave  is  worth 
half-a-dozen  refractory  ones.  Having  defeated  his 
owner's  arrangement,  Anthony  was  now  ordered 
to  present  himself  on  the  "  hiring-ground "  and 
find  a  new  master. 

The  impoverished  condition  of  Virginia  has  en 
gendered  a  peculiar  custom,  not  found,  —  certainly 
not  to  the  same  extent,  —  in  the  less  exhausted 
states  of  the  south.  Many  slaveholders,  having 
upon  their  hands  more  slaves  than  employment  for 
them,  make  a  practice  of  hiring  them  out  to  other 
persons  needing  their  services.  For  this  purpose, 
they  are  often  sent  long  distances  from  their 
owner's  estate,  and  members  of  the  same  family 
are  scattered  wide  asunder.  The  contracts  are 
made  for  only  a  single  year.  The  time  for  hiring 
is  during  the  Christmas  holidays.  Some  conven 
ient  point  is  selected  —  at  the  Court  House  or  some 
large  village  —  where  the  owners  and  then:  slaves 
assemble  to  arrange  the  matter.  This  is  called 
the  hiring-ground,  and,  as  it  remains  the  same  from 
year  to  year,  it  becomes  familiarly  known  to  the 
slaves  in  the  region  round  about.  An  owner  living 
ten,  twenty,  or  even  thirty  miles  distant,  has,  it  may 
be,  come  to  the  conclusion  to  hire  out  a  number 
of  his  slaves.  He  summons  the  whole  body 
before  him,  designates  several  by  name,  and  orders 
them  to  meet  him  on  the  hiring-ground  at  a  spe 
cified  hour  of  perhaps  the  next  day.  He  then 
directs  them  to  procure  passes  at  the  office  and 
dismisses  them.  They  are  now  left  to  find  their 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  BURNS.        159 

way  to  the  hiring-ground  on  foot,  whatever  the 
distance ;  and  it  is  at  their  peril  if  they  fail  to 
appear  at  the  appointed  time.  While  there, — 
sometimes  for  several  days,  —  they  are  left  to  shift 
for  themselves.  The  owner  provides  them  with 
neither  fOod  nor  shelter  at  night ;  a  small  piece  of 
silver,  bestowed  upon  each,  is  the  extent  of  the 
means  which  he  places  at  their  disposal.  If  they 
are  not  fortunate  enough  to  find  shelter  in  the  cabin 
of  some  friendly  slave  in  the  neighborhood,  they 
build  a  fire  in  the  street  or  in  the  field,  and,  gather 
ing  around,  pass  the  night  in  the  open  air. 

During  the  season  of  negotiation,  the  hiring- 
ground  exhibits  a  busy  spectacle.  Hundreds  are 
present,  all  intent  upon  one  common  business. 
The  slave  plays  an  important  part  in  the  transac 
tion.  He  must  be  as  active  as  his  owner  in  finding 
some  one  to  hire  him.  He  is  expected  to  praise 
himself  without  stint,  and  to  give  assurance  to  all 
inquirers  that  he  is  able  to  perform  any  sort  of 
labor.  Often  it  happens  that  a  person  comes  in 
search  of  a  slave  qualified  for  some  particular 
service,  perchance  that  of  coachman.  His  eye 
lights  upon  one  looking  more  than  usually  trim, 
and  he  accosts  him : 

"  Whose  boy  are  you  ?  " 

The  slave  informs  him. 

"What  can  you  do?" 

The  slave  enumerates  several  kinds  of  employ 
ment  with  which  he  may  have  been  familiar. 


160  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

"  Can  you  drive  a  coach  and  take  the  manage 
ment  and  care  of  horses  ?  " 

The  slave  is,  it  may  be,  totally  ignorant  of  such 
business  ;  but,  if  he  fears  his  owner's  displeasure, 
he  will  promptly  answer  that  he  can.  If  he  fears 
God  (as  some  do)  and  speaks  the  truth,  tie  knows 
well  that  stripes  are  likely  to  be  his  reward.  Some 
times  the  owner  stands  by  and  answers  for  him,  — 
falsely,  it  may  be.  When  a  bargain  is  made,  the 
parties  retire  to  execute  it  in  writing.  Besides  the 
sum  of  money  agreed  upon,  the  contract  usually 
stipulates  that  the  person  hiring  shall  provide  the 
slave  with  a  hat  or  cap,  a  pair  of  shoes,  and  two 
suits  of  clothes  during  the  year.  Of  all  these  stip 
ulations  the  slave  is  always  well  informed.  When 
the  transaction  is  completed,  he  is  ttfrned  over  to 
his  new  master,  who  orders  him  to  appear  at  his 
house  on  a  specified  day.  He  may  be  indulged 
with  a  day  or  two  more  on  the  hiring-ground,  but 
from  thence,  without  returning  home,  he  goes  di 
rectly  to  his  new  field  ol  service. 

Most  of  the  slaves  belonging  to  Col.  Suttle  were 
subjected  to  this  system  of  hiring,  and  thus  it  hap 
pened  that  Anthony,  from  his  earliest  years,  was 
never  much  under  his  owner's  eye.  After  the  con 
versation  relating  to  service  with  Brent,  he  repaired 
to  the  hiring-ground  and  soon  fell  in  with  a  person 
named  Foote,  who  was  attracted  by  his  appear 
ance.  The  attraction  was  not  mutual,  and  An 
thony  did  not  manifest  much  alacrity  in  satisfying 
Foote's  inquiries.  Col.  Suttle  stood  by;  and  when 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OP  BURNS.        161 

Foote  asked  Anthony  what  he  could  do,  replied 
for  him  with  some  sternness : 

"  He  can  do  anything? 

It  happened  that  Foote  was  in  search  of  a  boy 
to  tend  a  steam  engine  in  his  saw-mill,  and  to  this 
new  and  strange  business  the  young  and  inexperi 
enced  slave  felt  a  natural  aversion.  But  his  owner 
was  not  disposed  to  humor  him  a  second  time,  and 
a  bargain  was  concluded  by  which  seventy-five 
dollars  were  to  be  paid  for  his  services.  Foote 
dwelt  in  the  edge  of  Culpepper,  bordering  on  Staf 
ford  county,  and  thither  Anthony  now  went.  He 
was  at  this  time  twelve  or  thirteen  years  of  age. 

The  new  home  did  not  prove  to  be  very  agreea 
ble.  Foote  and  his  wife  were,  Yankees,  and  they 
presented  no  exception  to  the  classification  which 
assigns  to  apostates  from  northern  principles  of 
freedom  a  place  among  the  severest  taskmasters 
of  the  south.  Young  slaves  scarcely  three  feet 
high  were  beaten  by  the  mistress  without  mercy. 
Strapped  upon  a  plank  with  their  faces  downward, 
they  were  belabored  with  an  instrument  of  torture 
peculiar  to  slave-land,  consisting  of  a  strip  of  board 
perforated  with  holes  and  roughened  with  tar  and 
sand.  The  air,  drawn  through  the  holes  as  the 
board  smote  upon  the  skin,  would  raise  blisters, 
while  the  sand  increased  the  smart  without  deeply 
cutting  up  the  flesh  and  thereby  diminishing  the 
market  value  of  the  slave.  Besides  cruelties  of 
this  sort,  the  most  niggardly  fare  was  doled  out, 
and  occasionally,  in  a  fit  of  gloomy  merriment, 
14* 


162  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

Anthony  would  hold  up  to  the  sun  his  thin  shaving 
of  meat  to  show  what  a  transparent  humbug  it 
was.  His  lot,  however,  was  not  one  of  unmixed 
evil,  for,  through  the  friendly  teaching  of  a  young 
daughter  of  his  employer,  he  was  enabled  to  make 
some  further  progress  in  his  cherished  pursuit  of 
knowledge. 

When  he  had  been  two  or  three  months  in  the 
service  of  Foote,  an  accident  of  a  serious  nature 
befell  him.  He  was  busy  about  the  discharge  of 
his  duties  in  the  mill,  when  Foote,  without  giving 
him  warning,  set  the  machinery  in  motion,  and 
Anthony's  hand  was  caught  by  a  wheel  and  shock 
ingly  mangled.1  This  accident  laid  him  aside  from 
work  for  two  months.  He  returned  to  Falmouth, 
where  Col.  Suttle  then  had  a  sheriff's  office,  and 
in  this  was  provided  with  a  lodging  until  he  was 
able  to  resume  his  toil.  On  meeting  his  owner, 
he  pointed  to  his  broken  hand,  and  significantly 
remarked,  "  That 's  i  anything!  "  Col.  Suttle  did 
not  relish  this  taunting  allusion  to  his  former  rec 
ommendation  of  Burns  on  the  hiring-ground. 

During  this  period  of  suffering  and  exemption 
from  labor,  occurred  the  crisis  in  Anthony's  reli 
gious  history.  He  had  been  the  subject  of  strong 
religious  impressions  from  early  childhood.  His 
mother,  who  was  a  devout  woman,  had  tried  to 

1  The  scar,  or  rather  protruding  broken  bone,  which  disfigured  his 
hand  after  the  wound  had  healed,  was  commonly,  but  of  course  er 
roneously  supposed,  during  his  examination,  to  have  resulted  from 
abusive  treatment  by  his  master. 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OP  BURNS.        163 

tell  him  something  about  God.  He  had  been  ex 
cited  by  the  fervors  of  the  camp-meeting.  About 
the  same  time,  the  doctrines  of  Millerism  had  pen 
etrated  the  little  obscure  Virginia  county,  and  filled 
all  hearts  with  alarm.  It  became  the  universal 
topic ;  white  and  black  shared  alike  in  the  excite 
ment.  The  barriers  of  class  and  caste  were,  for 
the  time,  thrown  down,  and  never  before  had  there 
been  such  unreserved  communication  between 
master  and  slave.  To  this  was  added  a  real  cause 
of  alarm ;  the  scarlet  fever  swept  over  the  district, 
leaving  fearful  ravages  in  its  path.  The  young 
mind  of  Anthony  shared  in  the  general  excitement 
produced  by  these  unwonted  causes,  and  he  ear 
nestly  set  about  a  preparation  for  the  future  life. 
He  would  retire  into  the  recesses  of  the  forest  to 
pray,  but  there  no  light  shone  in  upon  him.  Ex 
travagant  hopes  and  terrors  alternately  possessed 
him.  At  one  time  he  looked  momently  to  see 
Jesus  appear  in  bodily  shape  before  him  ;  at  an 
other,  believing  that  he  actually  saw  the  Fiend  in 
the  form  of  a  serpent,  he  would  spring  from  the 
ground,  and  with  frantic  outcries  rush  from  the 
forest.  Gradually,  his  extreme  religious  excite 
ment  subsided,  but  he  never  lost  the  sense  of  spirit 
ual  need.  In  this  condition  he  remained  until  the 
accident  occurred  which  has  been  already  recorded. 
Impelled  by  bodily  anguish,  and  fearing  that  his 
injury  might  terminate  fataUy,  he  applied  himself 
with  renewed  earnestness  to  the  Friend  of  the  af 
flicted.  All  at  once  a  thought  flashed  through  his 


164  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

mind :  — "  Here  have  I  been  praying  to  Jesus, 
whom  I  have  never  served,  and  have  never  thought 
of  praying  to  the  Devil,  whom  I  have  always 
served."  This  was  a  new  revelation.  He  saw  it 
was  unreasonable  to  expect  help  from  a  Being 
whose  service  he  had  not  entered.  He  saw  that 
repentance  and  reformation  of  life  were  the  first 
steps  for  him  to  take.  Thus  put  upon  the  right 
path  by  the  Infinite  Spirit  working  with  his  spirit, 
he  soon  found  the  help  and  peace  that  he  sought. 

After  a  suitable  lapse  of  time,  he  applied  to  Col. 
Suttle,  according  to  custom,  for  leave  to  be  bap 
tized  ;  no  slave  being  suffered  to  comply  with  that 
command  of  the  Saviour  or  admitted  to  the  church 
without  a  written  permission  from  his  owner.  To 
Anthony's  request,  Col.  Suttle,  irritated  by  the 
prospect  of  loss  from  the  maimed  hand,  returned  a 
rough  refusal,  and  even  added  words  to  wound  the 
spirit  of  the  young  convert.  If  he  joined  the 
church,  Suttle  said,  he  would  soon  be  drinking  or 
following  the  women,  like  others.  Anthony  turned 
away  with  a  heavy  heart,  but  still  with  a  silent  re 
solve  to  pray  that  God  would  yet  incline  his  owner 
to  grant  his  request.  The  prayer  was  answered. 
Returning  some  time  after  from  Foote's,  where  he 
had  again  resumed  his  labor  in  the  mill,  he  unex 
pectedly  met  his  owner  in  a  carriage,  on  his  way  to 
the  Springs.  The  latter  kindly  saluted  him,  and 
now  of  his  own  accord  gave  the  requisite  permis 
sion  for  baptism.  Emboldened  by  such  rare  favor, 
Anthony  petitioned  for  money  to  buy  clothes  in 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OP  BURNS.        165 

which  to  appear  with  decency  on  the  occasion  of 
taking  his  baptismal  vows,  and  received  two  dollars, 
—  sixteen-fold  more  than  Col.  Suttle  ever  gave  him 
at  any  one  time,  before  or  after. 

At  the  proper  time  he  was  baptized  and  received 
into  the  Baptist  church  at  Falmouth.  The  church 
consisted  of  white  freemen  and  black  slaves.  All 
assembled  within  the  same  walls  for  worship  on 
the  Sabbath,  but  a  partition  of  boards  separated 
the  bond  from  the  free.  When  the  Holy  Supper 
was  administered,  the  cup  was  first  carefully  served 
to  all  of  the  privileged  class,  and  afterward  to  their 
sable  brethren.  Those  distinctions  were  not  main 
tained  in  anticipation  of  heaven,  but  in  deference 
to  the  prejudices  of  Virginia  society.  In  the  social 
religious  meetings  there  was  a  somewhat  nearer 
approach  to  the  New  Testament  model,  and  the 
prayers  and  exhortations  of  the  slaves  were  gra 
ciously  suffered  to  intermingle  with  those  pro 
ceeding  from  the  master's  lips. 

Among  the  Christian  slaves  at  the  south  there 
is  a  class  of  persons  that  bear  the  character  of 
quasi-pastors  or  preachers.  Without  being  formally 
set  apart  to  the  sacred  office  by  any  rite  of  ordina 
tion,  they  yet  receive  a  sort  of  recognition  from  the 
church  with  which  they  may  happen  to  be  con 
nected.  Piety,  a  gift  at  exhortation,  and  a  desire 
for  the  work  of  a  preacher,  are  the  requisite  quali 
fications.  All  these  were  found  in  Anthony  when, 
at  the  end  of  two  years  from  the  period  of  his  bap 
tism,  he  applied  to  his  brethren  for  their  recognition 


166  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

of  him  as  a  preacher.  A  day  was  appointed  when 
he  should  exhibit  his  gifts  to  the  assembled  mem 
bers  of  the  church.  Sitting  around  with  ears  more 
than  usually  critical,  yet  not  without  sympathy, 
they  listened  while  Anthony  addressed  to  them  an 
exhortation  from  the  desk.  His  effort  proved  satis 
factory,  and,  at  the  close,  pastor  and  brethren, 
taking  him  by  the  hand,  bade  him  God  speed. 
Thenceforth  he  exercised  his  new  office  as  he  had 
opportunity.  Gathering  a  little  congregation  of 
slaves,  sometimes  in  the  kitchen  of  a  friendly 
white  person,  sometimes  in  the  rude  cabin  of  a 
slave,  he  would  lead  them  in  their  devotions  and 
speak  to  them  of  the  Gospel.  These  meetings, 
however,  as  well  as  all  other  assemblies  consisting 
exclusively  of  slaves,  were  violations  of  Virginia 
law.  Every  such  assembly,  unless  sanctioned  by  the 
presence  of  a  white,  was  exposed  to  rude  interrup 
tion,  and  the  slaves  that  might  be  caught,  to  severe 
punishment.  The  patrols  and  guards  that  nightly 
walked  their  rounds  were  constantly  on  the  watch 
to  detect  these  secret  meetings,  and,  in  spite  of  all 
caution,  they  would  occasionally  succeed.  Perhaps 
while  the  assembly  were  in  the  act  of  prayer,  the 
door  would  be  suddenly  burst  open  by  a  throng  of 
profane  officials,  each  with  cord  in  hand,  bent  on 
securing  as  many  victims  as  possible.  When 
such  surprisals  occurred,  the  first  movement  would 
be  to  extinguish  the  lights;  then,  through  door, 
window,  and  even  chimney,  the  affrighted  wor 
shippers  hurried  their  escape.  Those  who  were 


THE  EAELY  LIFE  OF  BURNS.        167 

unlucky  enough  to  be  caught,  were  taken  to  the 
cage,1  and  the  next  day  rewarded  with  nine-and- 
thirty  lashes  at  the  whipping  post  for  having  peace 
fully,  but  unlawfully,  assembled  to  worship  God. 
Anthony  was  not  without  experience  of  this  sort, 
though  he  was  always  so  fortunate  as  to  escape 
from  the  clutches  of  the  officers. 

In  his  new  capacity,  it  sometimes  fell  to  his  lot 
to  perform  the  marriage  rite  for  slaves,  or  what 
among  them  was  called  such ;  and  sometimes  to 
conduct  the  burial  service  for  the  dead.  If  a  slave 
died  during  the  week,  no  funeral  was  allowed  to 
interrupt  the  daily  toil  of  the  plantation.  The 
body,  encased  perchance  in  an  orange-box,  was 
deposited  in  the  ground  without  ceremony  or  delay, 
and  a  few  shovelfulls  of  earth  were  thrown  in, 
while  the  bereaved  kindred  went  about  their  toil  as 
usual.  But  on  the  following  Sabbath,  the  whole 
body  of  the  slaves,  attended  by  the  master  or  the 
overseer,  assembled  to  "sod  the  grave."  With 
prayers,  exhortations,  and  much  singing  of  hymns, 
in  the  sad,  wild  negro  airs,  this  final  ceremony  was 
completed. 

Li  death  as  in  life,  the  social  distinctions  of 
slavery  are  carefully  maintained.  Laid  to  rest  in 
a  "potter's  field,"  the  dead  bodies  of  the  slaves 
never  mingle  their  dust  with  that  of  the  sovereign 
race.  No  monument,  inscribed  with  the  name  of 
the  deceased,  ever  marks  the  spot  where  he  lies,  as 

1A  place  provided  everywhere  in  towns  at  the  South,  for  the 
temporary  confinement  of  delinquent  slaves. 


168  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

no  legal  sanction  was  ever  given  to  his  name  while 
he  lived.  A  rough  stone,  gathered  from  the  way 
side,  or  a  branch  of  cedar,  soon  to  die,  is  his  only 
monument.  So  perish,  an  undistinguishable  throng, 
the  enslaved  race  of  the  South.  For  two  centuries 
the  long  and  ever  swelling  procession  has  been 
moving  on  in  its  weary  path  to  the  grave,  but  no 
name  of  them  all  survive,  save  where,  here  and 
there,  one  has  escaped  out  of  the  American  Egypt, 
or,  Spartacus-like,  has  risen  to  take  bloody  ven 
geance  on  his  oppressors.  A  race  of  many  millions 
has  mingled  in  the  very  thick  of  American  civiliza 
tion  reaching  even  into  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
yet  their  place  in  human  history  is  a  blank. 

When  Anthony  had  ended  his  year  of  service 
with  Foote,  he  found  a  new  master  in  Falmouth. 
This  man,  not  having  employment  enough  for  him, 
re-let  him  at  the  end  of  six  months  to  a  wholesale 
merchant.  The  latter  proved  to  be  a  harsh  master, 
and  Anthony  refused  to  remain  beyond  the  expir 
ation  of  his  time,  much  to  the  merchant's  disap 
pointment.  With  the  new  year,  he  entered  the 
service  of  a  tavern-keeper  in  Fredericksburg.  The 
annual  income  which  his  owner  derived  from  his 
services  had  now  risen  to  one  hundred  dollars, 
notwithstanding  the  drawback  caused  by  his  lame 
hand.  At  the  end  of  the  year,  true  to  his  secret 
purpose  of  frequently  changing  his  place,  he  sought 
and  obtained  a  new  situation  in  the  establishment 
of  an  apothecary  in  Fredericksburg.  While  there, 
an  incident  occurred  that  made  all  his  hopes  of 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  BURNS.        169 

freedom  to  bud  and  blossom  afresh.  Going  into 
the  kitchen  of  his  employer  one  day,  he  found  there 
a  fortune-teller  who  at  once  beset  him  to  cross  her 
palm  with  his  shilling.  With  some  reluctance 
Anthony  consented,  and  the  woman  proceeded  to 
flatter  him  with  the  usual  nonsense  about  love. 
But  Anthony  waited  with  secret  anxiety  to  hear  if 
she  would  prophesy  to  him  of  freedom  ;  and  when 
at  length  she  did  promise  him  that  long  dreamed 
of  bliss,  he  almost  fainted  with  the  rush  of  emotion. 
Not  content  with  uttering  an  indefinite  prediction, 
she  even  fixed  the  period  when  he  should  become 
a  freeman,  and  fixed  it  only  a  few  months  forward. 
Was  it  strange  that  a  slave,  panting  to  breathe  the 
air  of  liberty,  should  catch  at  such  a  straw  ?  With 
increasing  restlessness  he  looked  forward  to  the 
predicted  time.  When  it  had  passed  and  he  still 
remained  in  slavery  as  before,  his  faith  in  fortune- 
telling  was  naturally  staggered.  But  a  change  in 
his  circumstances  occurred  about  this  time  that 
contributed  to  keep  alive,  and  even  to  strengthen, 
his  hopes. 

Col.  Suttle  had  hitherto  managed  the  hiring  of 
his  own  slaves  ;  he  now  appointed  William  Brent 
his  agent  for  that  purpose.  The  latter  having  at 
length  discovered  that  work  and  not  sport  is  the 
law  of  life,  had  removed  from  Falmouth  to  Rich 
mond  and  entered  the  service  of  his  brother-in-law 
as  a  clerk.  He  now  sent  for  Anthony  for  the  pur 
pose  of  hiring  him  out  in  the  latter  city.  This  was 
welcome  intelligence,  for,  besides  placing  Mm  in  a 
15 


170  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

community  where  he  was  unknown,  the  change 
would  bring  him  to  the  very  side  of  the  ships  that 
might  help  him  wing  his  way  to  the  North.  Ac 
cordingly,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  he  set  out  for 
the  metropolis  of  Virginia,  having  under  his  charge 
four  other  slaves  belonging  to  Col.  Suttle,  also  bound 
for  the  hiring-ground. 

The  trust  committed  to  him  on  this  occasion  was 
but  one  proof  of  the  high  place  which  Anthony 
held  in  his  owner's  esteem.  As  he  had  grown  up, 
his  superiority,  natural  and  acquired,  to  the  other 
slaves  of  Col.  Suttle,  had  become  more  and  more 
manifest,  and  in  the  end  he  was  made  a  supervisor 
over  the  whole.  He  found  them  new  masters  at 
the  end  of  the  year ;  if  anything  went  amiss  with 
them,  it  was  to  him  that  the  owner  or  his  agent 
looked  for  an  account.  Once  a  year,  there  was  a 
re-union  of  Col.  Suttle  and  all  his  slaves.  The 
scene  was  a  little  cabin  in  Stafford  where  Anthony's 
mother,  now  verging  upon  fourscore,  and  his  sister, 
a  breeding-woman,  had  their  quarters.  To  this 
centre,  the  hired  slaves,  under  the  superintendence 
of  Anthony,  were  required  to  repair  at  the  close  of 
the  year,  however  distant  they  might  be.  The 
owner  met  them,  saw  for  himself  their  per 
sonal  condition,  and  received  reports  of  what 
had  transpired  in  respect  to  themselves.  If  any 
had  been  sick,  or  had  fallen  into  difficulties  with 
their  employers,  or  had  been  punished  by  the 
authorities,  this  was  the  time  for  explanation.  The 
interview  ended  with  a  dotation  from  Col.  Suttle 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OP  BUENS.        171 

of  a  dime,  or  some  other  small  coin,  to  each. 
Usually,  this  was  the  only  time  in  the  year  when 
he  and  his  slaves  met  each  other  face  to  face. 

On  arriving  in  Richmond,  Anthony  found  that  a 
master  had  already  been  provided  for  himself  in  the 
person  of  Brent's  brother-in-law.  A  day's  acquaint 
ance  satisfied  him  that  they  would  never  get  on  har 
moniously  together,  and  he  refused  his  assent  to  the 
arrangement.  In  the  mean  time,  he  busied  him 
self  with  providing  situations  for  the  slaves  that 
had  been  placed  in  his  charge.  Having  accom 
plished  this,  he  then  found  a  place  for  himself  with 
the  proprietor  of  a  large  flouring  establishment 
where  an  elder  brother  was  already  employed.  All 
being  thus  happily  provided  for  by  the  enterprise 
and  address  of  Anthony,  nothing  remained  for  the 
agent  Brent  but  to  execute  the  contracts  in  writing. 

Meanwhile  he  had  continued  to  make  progress 
in  his  education.  At  Acquia,  in  Culpepper,  in  Fal- 
mouth,  and  in  Fredericksburg,  he  had  found  one 
and  another  to  assist  him  in  the  struggle.  The 
spelling-book  had  been  mastered,  and  the  New 
Testament  had  begun  to  yield  up  its  meaning  to 
his  patient  application.  At  length  he  essayed  a 
bolder  flight.  A  part  of  his  business  had  usually 
been  to  fetch  his  master's  letters  from  the  post- 
office.  One  day  the  thought  struck  him  that  if  he 
were  able  to  write,  he  too  might  send  letters  to  his 
friends,  and  no  one  be  the  wiser.  He  resolved,  if 
it  were  possible,  to  learn  the  precious  art.  He 
gathered  from  the  street  some  torn  scraps  of  paper 


172  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

with  writing  upon  them,  and  carefully  imitated  the 
characters.  These  rude  copies  he  ventured  to  show 
to  a  young  lady  whom  he  had  known  as  a  child  at 
Miss  Horton's  school.  His  confidence  was  not 
misplaced ;  although  contrary  to  Virginia  law,  she 
kindly  explained  their  meaning  and  lent  him  fur 
ther  aid.  Thus,  by  the  time  he  arrived  in  Rich 
mond,  he  was  already  able  to  read  and  to  write 
with  a  considerable  degree  of  correctness.  Such 
unusual  attainments  gave  him  a  position  in  that 
city  which  he  did  not  fail  to  improve  to  his  own 
advantage,  as  well  as  that  of  others.  He  set  up 
a  school  for  the  instruction  of  slaves  —  old  as  well 
as  young  —  in  reading.  When  the  labors  of  the 
day  were  over,  he  was  wont  to  meet  twelve  or 
fifteen  in  the  house  of  a  free  negro  woman  for  that 
purpose.  This  practice  he  continued  for  several 
months,  and  while  it  directly  promoted  his  mental 
improvement,  it  was  also  a  source  of  pecuniary 
profit. 

At  the  end  of  his  first  year  in  Richmond,  he 
changed  his  masters  for  the  last  time.  His  new 
employer  was  a  druggist  named  Millspaugh.  In 
about  a  week  after  Anthony  had  entered  upon  his 
new  engagement,  Millspaugh  took  him  aside,  and 
proposed  a  different  arrangement.  He  had  ex 
pected,  he  said,  to  have  had  employment  enough 
to  keep  Anthony  constantly  busy,  but  found  that 
such  was  not  the  case,  and  that  he  was  likely  to 
lose  money  by  retaining  him.  He  proposed,  there 
fore,  that  Anthony  should  take  the  matter  into  his 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OP  BURNS.        173 

own  hands  on  these  conditions :  That  he  should 
pay  to  Millspaugh  the  sum  ($125),  which  Col. 
Suttle  was  to  receive,  that  he  should  clothe  him 
self,  and,  finally,  that  he  should  pay  Millspaugh  a 
bonus,  the  amount  of  which  was  left  to  Anthony's 
generosity.  He  was  to  seek  jobs  here  and  there  in 
the  city,  and  every  evening  pay  to  his  master  a 
certain  sum  from  his  earnings.  This  arrangement, 
Millspaugh  informed  him,  was  in  violation  of  law, 
and  must  of  course  be  kept  secret ;  nor,  as  An 
thony  understood,  was  it  ever  made  known  to 
Suttle  or  to  Brent.  He  joyfully  accepted  the 
proposal,  and  with  new  springs  of  life  went  forth 
to  seek  work,  which  had  thus  suddenly  become  his 
best  friend.  It  soon  appeared,  however,  that  the 
arrangement  to  pay  Millspaugh  every  night  would 
be  inconvenient,  and  even  impossible,  since  his 
daily  earnings  were  variable,  and  on  some  days  he 
had  failed  of  a  job  altogether.  It  was  therefore 
arranged  that  he  should  make  a  payment  to  his 
master  at  the  end  of  every  fortnight. 

All  this  while,  the  great  purpose  of  his  life  had 
had  been  fast  ripening  for  action.  He  had  now 
dwelt  a  year  in  the  midst  of  circumstances  that 
strongly  fostered  its  developement.  He  was  in 
daily  sight  of  those  northern  keels  that  seemed 
to  him  a  part  of  the  very  soil  of  freedom.  He  was 
in  daily  converse  with  men  whose  birthright  was 
in  a  free  land,  and  whose  language  to  the  slave 
had  no  smack  of  the  whip.  Kindhearted  sailors, 
having  no  vessels  to  forfeit,  and  no  trade  to  com- 


174  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

promise,  did  not  hesitate  to  urge  him  on  to  flight. 
Plainly,  the  time  was  at  hand,  when,  if  ever,  he 
was  to  achieve  his  freedom. 

One  very  serious  obstacle  lay  in  his  path,  and 
must  be  overcome.  As  already  narrated,  he  had 
become  a  member  of  the  church,  and  more  than 
that,  a  preacher  of  the  gospel.  Was  it  right  for 
him  to  run  away  from  his  owner  ?  The  question 
troubled  him.  He  could  not  bring  reproach  upon 
the  sacred  cause  he  had  espoused;  if  he  fled  from 
slavery,  it  must  be  with  a  clear  conscience.  To 
resolve  his  doubts,  he  searched  the  Scriptures.  He 
fell  upon  the  Epistle  to  Philemon,  which  has 
furnished  so  much  comfort  to  pious  slaveholders, 
and,  strangely  enough,  it  relieved  and  comforted 
Anthony  also.  For  he  read  that  though  Paul  had 
sent  back  a  runaway  slave,  it  was  that  he  should 
be  no  longer  a  slave,  but  a  brother  beloved  unto 
his  former  master.  Still  pursuing  his  investiga 
tions,  he  met  with  the  case  of  the  bond-woman 
Hagar,  whom,  when  she  had  fled  from  hard 
usage,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  had  commanded  to 
return  and  become  submissive  to  her  mistress. 
This  seemed  to  contradict  the  principle  inculcated 
by  Paul,  and  in  his  perplexity  Anthony  applied  to 
others  for  light.  They  summarily  expounded  the 
passage  as  a  divine  sanction  to  the  slave  code  of 
the  Old  Dominion.  Not  satisfied  —  as  how  could 
he  be  with  what  would  wither  his  now  brightly 
blooming  hopes  —  Anthony  searched  further,  and 
reflected  with  deeper  earnestness.  As  the  result  of 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OP  BURNS.        175 

his  inquiries,  he  found  that  the  Bible  set  forth  only 
one  God  for  the  black  and  the  white  races,  that  He 
had  made  of  one  blood  all  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
that  there  was  no  divine  ordinance  requiring  one 
part  of  the  human  family  to  be  in  bondage  to 
another,  and  that  there  was  no  passage  of  Holy 
Writ  by  virtue  of  which  Col.  Suttle  could  claim  a 
right  of  property  in  him,  any  more  than  he  could 
in  Col.  Suttle.  These  considerations  ended  his 
doubts.  Paul  was  on  his  side,  the  whole  spirit  of 
the  Gospel  sanctioned  his  desires,  and  he  deliber 
ately  dismissed  Hagar  from  his  thoughts.  From 
that  moment,  with  a  clear  conscience  and  full 
integrity  of  Christian  character,  he  applied  himself 
to  the  recovery  of  his  inalienable  right  to  liberty 
and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 

The  new  arrangement  for  paying  Millspaugh 
was  highly  favorable  to  the  success  of  his  plans. 
So  long  as  he  was  required  to  reckon  every  night, 
there  was  little  chance  of  making  good  his  escape. 
His  failure  to  appear  would  have  been  remarked 
by  his  expectant  master,  and  continued  absence 
would  have  been  followed  by  speedy  search.  But 
now,  he  was  not  expected  until  the  end  of  a  fort 
night  ;  nor  would  suspicion  be  excited  if  he  were 
not  seen  during  that  interval.  A  fortnight's  start 
in  the  race  for  freedom  was,  under  ordinary  circum 
stances,  more  than  enough  to  place  him  upon  the 
soil  of  New  England,  and  it  was  his.  This  fair 
prospect  was  suddenly  obscured.  At  the  end  of 
the  first  month,  Anthony  paid  to  his  master  twenty- 


176  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

five  dollars,  showing  that  he  was  earning  at  the 
rate  of  three  hundred  dollars  a  year.  This  fact 
seemed  to  put  a  new  thought  into  Millspaugh's 
head.  He  revoked  his  permission  for  settlements 
once  a  fortnight,  and  not  only  required  them  to  be 
made  daily,  as  at  first,  but  also  required  that  the 
whole  sum  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dol 
lars  should  be  paid  as  fast  as  possible.  Did  he 
design,  when  that  was  paid,  to  ignore  the  unlawful 
bargain  with  his  slave,  and  appropriate  his  earnings 
for  the  remainder  of  the  year?  Whatever  his 
secret  purpose,  it  was  effectually  baulked.  An 
thony  strenuously  objected  to  the  arrangement,  and 
finally  left  Millspaugh's  presence  without  giving  his 
consent.  But  he  saw  that  the  crisis  had  come,  and 
he  proceeded  to  act  accordingly. 

On  becoming  master  of  his  own  time,  according 
to  the  arrangement  with  Millspaugh,  he  had  sought 
and  obtained  employment  on  the  vessels  lying  at 
the  wharves.  Much  of  the  time,  he  was  on  board 
assisting  to  discharge  cargoes  of  coals,  guano,  and 
other  lading.  He  was  thus  brought  into  familiar 
intercourse  with  the  sailors,  and  with  one  in  par 
ticular  he  was  soon  on  the  most  confidential  terms. 
The  subject  of  his  bondage  was  broached,  and  his 
aspirations  for  freedom  were  disclosed.  The  sym 
pathetic  sailor  entered  heartily  into  his  views,  and 
a  plan  for  his  escape  had  already  been  concerted, 
when  Millspaugh's  change  of  purpose  suddenly 
precipitated  its  execution.  Although  Anthony  had 
refused  his  assent  to  the  new  arrangement,  yet  he 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  BURNS.        177 

had  every  reason  to  fear  that  it  would  be  enforced 
notwithstanding  his  remonstrances.  He  would 
thus  be  required  to  appear  daily  in  his  master's 
presence.  But  he  imagined  that  for  the  first  few 
days  his  failure  to  do  so  would  naturally  be  at 
tributed  to  his  reluctance  on  this  point,  and  so  sus 
picion  would  be  disarmed.  This  precious  interval 
he  now  resolved  should  witness  his  departure  from 
slave-land. 

At  the  very  last,  a  sharp  struggle  awaited  him. 
Love,  which  does  not  discriminate  between  black 
and  white,  bond  and  free,  had  made  a  conquest 
of  Anthony.  He  had  formed  an  attachment  to  a 
bond-woman  of  his  own  race,  and  there  was  before 
him  a  bright  prospect  of  soon  enjoying  the  highest 
solace  which  slave  life  affords.  To  sunder  this 
tender  tie  was  hard,  but  to  forego  the  prospect  cf 
liberty  was  harder  still.  Besides,  his  desire  for 
freedom  had  by  this  time  assumed  a  high  moral 
character ;  as  a  Christian  man,  his  soul  was  fet 
tered  ;  as  one  seeking  to  benefit  his  fellow-men,  he 
found  himself  under  restraints  too  great  to  be  borne. 
The  higher  motive  triumphed,  love  was  sacrificed 
on  the  altar  of  liberty. 

The  third  night  after  his  last  interview  with 
Millspaugh  was  fixed  upon  for  putting  his  pur 
pose  into  execution;  it  was  one  of  the  early  days 
in  February,  1854.  His  lodging-place  was  in  Mills- 
paugh's  house,  directly  over  that  person's  chamber. 
Gathering  some  few  effects  into  a  small  bundle, 
he  encased  himself  in  four  suits  of  clothes  —  the 


178  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

outer  suit  being  the  coarse  garb  in  which  he  per 
formed  his  daily  toil  —  and  lay  down  to  pass  a 
sleepless  night.  In  the  same  room,  a  roguish  young 
negro  boy  was  accustomed  to  sleep,  by  whom 
there  was  danger  that  his  strange  plight  would  be 
discovered.  Fortunately,  no  detection  took  place. 
An  hour  before  daylight,  he  rose  and  took  his  way 
about  a  mile  to  the  wharves.  Had  he  found  any 
persons  around,  it  was  his  purpose  to  have  gone 
to  work  as  usual.  Finding  the  coast  clear,  he 
rapidly  passed  on  board  the  vessel  to  which  his 
sailor-friend  belonged,  and  was  quickly  stowed 
away  in  a  place  of  concealment  previously  pre 
pared  by  the  latter. 

The  vessel  did  not  sail  that  day,  as  had  been 
expected,  and,  while  she  still  lay  at  the  wharf,  sleep 
fell  upon  Anthony,  already  exhausted  by  watching. 
When  he  again  awoke,  she  was  ten  or  fifteen  miles 
down  the  river,  under  full  sail.  Contrary  winds 
retarded  the  voyage,  and  the  roughened  waters 
caused  the  vessel  to  pitch  and  toss  at  an  unusual 
rate.  The  effect  produced  upon  Anthony's  physi 
cal  system  was  too  much  for  his  endurance.  Shut 
up  in  a  dark  hole,  where  he  was  compelled  to  lie 
constantly  in  one  position,  and  left  for  several  days 
without  a  morsel  of  food,  he  had  to  undergo,  in 
addition,  the  pangs  of  sea-sickness,  redoubled  by 
the  other  miseries  of  his  situation,  and  by  their 
very  strangeness.  In  his  extreme  misery,  he  en 
treated  his  friend  to  put  him  on  shore  and  leave 
him  to  his  fate ;  but  this  was  impossible.  At  the 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OP  BURNS.        179 

end  of  two  days  the  vessel  reached  Norfolk,  where 
she  lay  to  for  a  short  time,  and  then  resumed  her 
voyage  for  Boston.  The  ordinary  time  for  the 
passage  was  from  ten  to  fourteen  days,  but  for 
three  weeks  Anthony  was  tossed  upon  the  ocean 
before  he  again  set  foot  on  land.  During  all  that 
time  he  never  once  left  his  narrow  hiding-place,  nor 
was  he  able  to  change  his  position  in  the  least 
degree.  Lying  constantly  on  one  side,  he  for  a 
time  entirely  lost  the  use  of  his  right  arm.  Bread 
and  water  were  his  only  nourishment,  and  these 
he  received  only  at  intervals  of  three  or  four  days, 
as  his  friend  found  opportunity  to  convey  them  to 
him  by  stealth.  For,  from  first  to  last,  neither  the 
captain  nor  any  officer  was  aware  of  his  being  on 
board.  As  the  vessel  passed  into  the  more  north 
ern  latitudes,  he  was  assailed  by  a  degree  of  cold 
such  as  his  southern  life  had  ill  fitted  him  to  en 
dure,  and,  before  the  voyage  was  ended,  his  feet 
were  frozen  stiff  in  his  boots. 

At  length,  somewhere  in  the  last  days  of  Febru 
ary  or  first  of  March,  the  vessel  touched  her  wharf 
at  Boston.  Seizing  a  favorable  opportunity,  An 
thony  succeeded  in  getting  on  shore  unobserved. 
It  was  in  the  gray  of  the  morning,  and  few  people 
were  moving.  Assuming  the  air  of  a  seaman,  he 
inquired  his  way  to  a  boarding-house,  and  was 
soon  provided  for.  A  week  elapsed  before  he  was 
sufficiently  recovered  of  his  bruises  to  move  about 
with  any  comfort.  He  then  sought  for  employ 
ment,  and  at  length  secured  the  situation  of  a  cook 


180  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

on  board  a  mud-scow.  In  the  discharge  of  his  new 
duties  everything  succeeded  satisfactorily  but  one 
—  he  was  unable  to  make  his  bread  rise.  This 
was  a  fatal  defect,  and  at  the  end  of  a  week  he 
was  discharged.  His  next  permanent  employment 
was  that  in  which  he  was  found  by  the  slave-hunt 
er.1  I  now  resume  the  narrative  of  his  extradition. 

1  The  discovery  of  his  place  of  refuge  was  made  by  means  of  f« 
letter  which  he  wrote  to  his  brother  in  Kichmond,  and  which  he  had 
incautiously  dated  at  Boston,  while  taking  care  to  have  it  post 
marked  in  Canada.  It  of  course  first  fell  into  the  hands  of  his 
brother's  master,  who  communicated  the  contents  to  Brent  or 
S  uttle. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  TRADER'S  JAIL. 

A  SHORT  distance  down  the  harbor,  the  United 
States  revenue  cutter  was  lying  to,  in  readiness  to 
receive  its  prey.  Col.  Suttle  and  his  witness  Brent 
were  already  on  board.  Their  absence  from  the 
court-room,  at  the  rendering  of  the  decision,  had 
been  remarked;  the  more,  as  it  was  in  striking 
contrast  with  their  sedulous  attendance  on  all  the 
previous  days  of  the  trial.  It  was  afterward  ascer 
tained  that  they  had  quietly  left  their  hotel  at  early 
dawn  on  the  same  morning,  passed  over  to  the 
Navy  Yard  at  Charlestown,  and  from  thence  had 
been  transported  with  their  baggage  to  the  revenue 
cutter.  That  the  claimant  of  Burns  should  thus 
calmly  turn  his  back  upon  the  court  in  the  very 
crisis  of  his  cause,  that  the  commander  of  a  na 
tional  vessel  should  thus  place  it  at  the  service  of 
a  private  citizen  without  any  ostensible  warrant, 
were  significant  facts.  The  public  placed  but  one 
construction  upon  the  proceeding ;  they  saw  in  it 
conclusive  proof  that  the  Commissioner  had  pri 
vately  made  known  his  decision  to  one  of  the  in 
terested  parties  before  he  declared  it  in  open  court. 

The  steamer  was  soon  placed  alongside  the  cut- 
16  (181) 


182  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

ter,  to  which  Burns  was  immediately  transferred, 
together  with  Deputy  Marshal  Riley,  Butman,  and 
four  others,  who  had  been  detailed  to  escort  the 
slave  back  to  Virginia.  The  cutter  was  then  taken 
in  tow  by  the  steamer,  and  together  they  passed 
down  the  harbor.  At  the  end  of  a  few  miles,  the 
two  vessels  cast  loose  from  each  other,  a  parting 
salute  was  fired,  and  the  steamer  returned  to  dis 
embark  the  soldiers  and  cannon,  while  the  cutter 
pursued  its  solitary  course  for  Virginia. 

On  entering  the  cabin  of  the  cutter,  Anthony 
found  himself  once  more  face  to  face  with  Col. 
Suttle.  «  How  do  you  do, '  Tony  ?  "  was  the  latter's 
salutation.  A  private  conference  between  Col. 
Suttle  and  the  Marshal  ensued,  during  which 
Butman  and  others  were  banished  from  the  cabin. 
After  the  departure  of  the  Marshal,  Col.  Suttle 
proceeded  to  interrogate  Burns  respecting  his  es 
cape.  He  offered  to  give  him  his  freedom,  if  he 
would  divulge  the  name  of  the  captain  who 
brought  him  off  from  Virginia.  To  disarm  and 
conciliate  Burns,  he  prefaced  his  question  with  a 
testimony  to  the  truthfulness  of  the  latter. 

"  This  boy,"  said  he  to  the  bystanders,  "  has 
always  been  an  honest,  upright  servant,  and  I  have 
never  known  him  to  tell  a  lie." 

To  the  demand  for  the  captain's  name,  Burns 
replied,  simply  and  truthfully,  "  I  do  not  know  it." 

Thereupon  Col.  Suttle,  in  the  face  of  his  previ 
ous  testimony,  expressed  a  doubt  of  his  truthful 
ness.  But  Burns  persisted  then,  and  ever  after- 


THE  TRADER'S  JAIL.  183 

ward,  in  asserting  his  ignorance  of  the  captain's 
name.  It  had  never  been  a  matter  of  curiosity 
with  him ;  he  had  never  seen  the  captain  while  on 
board  his  ship,  and  probably  not  at  any  other  time. 
Failing  to  obtain  any  light  from  Anthony,  Col. 
Suttle  gave  vent  to  his  vindictive  feelings  toward 
the  unknown  and  really  innocent  captain. 

"  If  I  knew  the  scoundrel,"  said  he,  "  he  would  n't 
want  to  bring  off  another  negro.  I  would  put  him 
in  the  Penitentiary  for  life." 

"  He  ought  to  be,"  responded  the  zealous  But- 
man ;  and  he  added  that  on  arriving  at  Richmond 
he  thought  he  should  be  able  to  find  him  out. 

A  slight  incident  showed  that  those  by  whom 
Burns  was  surrounded  regarded  him  with  no 
friendly  spirit.  On  taking  up  his  hat,  which  he 
had  laid  aside,  he  found  in  it  a  letter.  He  forth 
with  took  it  to  Col.  Suttle,  explaining  to  him  the 
circumstances  under  which  it  had  been  found.  It 
proved  to  contain  a  written  speech  purporting  to 
have  been  delivered  by  Burns  against  Col.  Suttle 
and  the  laws  of  the  land.  The  author  was  never 
discovered  ;  his  object  plainly  was  to  prejudice 
Col.  Suttle  against  the  friendless  fugitive. 

During  the  voyage,  Anthony  had  abundant  leis 
ure  for  reflection.  Uncertainty  respecting  the  fate 
that  awaited  him  weighed  down  his  spirits  and 
filled  him  with  fears.  Would  he  be  whipped? 
Would  he  be  imprisoned  ?  Would  he  be  sold  and 
sent  to  the  far  South  ?  Would  his  life  be  sacri- 


184  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

ficed  ?  Once,  when  Col.  Suttle  was  sitting  upon 
deck,  he  approached  and  said : 

"  Master  Charles,  what  are  you  going  to  do  with 
me?" 

"  What  do  you  think  I  ought  to  do,  'Tony  ?  " 

"  I  expect  you  will  sell  me." 

Col.  Suttle  replied  that  Anthony  had  caused  him 
great  expense,  that  his  lawyers'  fees  alone  had  been 
four  hundred  dollars ;  but  he  left  unanswered  the 
slave's  anxious  inquiry. 

On  arriving  at  a  point  off  New  York  Bay,  the 
cutter  fell  in  with  a  steamer  bound  for  that  city. 
By  this  time,  Suttle  and  Brent  had  become  thor 
oughly  seasick,  and  they  improved  the  opportunity 
to  leave  the  cutter,  intending  to  make  the  remain 
der  of  their  journey  overland.  After  their  depar 
ture,  the  situation  of  Anthony  became  less  agree 
able.  He  had  hitherto  enjoyed  the  freedom  of  the 
vessel ;  now  he  was  restricted  to  a  certain  part  of 
it.  He  was  required  to  take  his  meals  by  himself. 
No  one  looked  kindly  upon  him  but  the  sailors  that 
manned  the  vessel.  The  departure  of  Col.  Suttle 
was  also  the  signal  for  Butman  and  his  coadjutors  to 
beset  Anthony  afresh.  They  importuned  him  to 
tell  them  the  whole  matter,  now  that  it  was  ended ; 
and  they  were  especially  curious  to  ascertain  if  the 
witnesses  in  behalf  of  Burns  had  told  the  truth. 
Again  they  renewed  their  protestations  of  friend 
ship  ;  in  proof  of  it,  they  reminded  Anthony  that  it 
was  they  who  had  procured  for  him  new  clothes 
and  supplied  him  with  money.  They  at  length 


THE  TRADER'S  JAIL.  185 

proceeded  to  tempt  him  with  a  proposition  in  full 
keeping  with  the  infamy  of  then*  own  course.  They 
assured  him  that  they  would  procure  his  immediate 
freedom,  provided  he  would  return  and  assist  them 
in  catching  fugitive  slaves.  To  strengthen  the 
lure,  they  informed  him  that  one  negro  in  Boston 
had  engaged  in  the  business,  and  grown  rich  by  so 
doing.  But  Burns  understood  his  men,  and  was 
fully  proof  against  their  machinations. 

"  You  wish,"  said  he,  "  to  get  out  of  me  all  that 
you  can,  for  the  purpose  of  injuring  my  friends  in 
Massachusetts,  and  then  you  will  leave  me  to  die 
in  Virginia.  I  know  I  am  green ;  but,  mark  me,  I 
am  ripe  enough  for  you  in  this  matter." 

On  Saturday,  after  a  voyage  of  eight  days,  the 
vessel  arrived  at  Norfolk.  Informed  by  telegraph  of 
Burns's  departure  from  Boston,  the  Virginia  city 
was  already  awaiting  his  appearance.  Although 
Richmond  was  the  destination  of  the  fugitive,  yet 
NorfoDi  was  determined  to  share  in  the  triumph  of  her 
sister  city.  On  two  former  occasions  she  had  been 
baulked  in  her  attempts  to  recover  fugitives  from 
Massachusetts  on  her  own  account,  and  the  failure 
had  only  increased  her^agerness.1  Accordingly,  as 
the  vessel  drew  to  land,  the  officers  of  the  city  went 
on  board  and  taking  possession  of  Anthony,  carried 

1  Latimer,  whom  Gov.  Davis  declined  to  surrender  to  the  Gover 
nor  of  Virginia  in  1843,  when  requisition  was  made  on  the  false  pre 
tence  that  he  was  a  fugitive  from  justice,  and  Shadrach,  who  was  the 
first  fugitive  slave  arrested  in  Massachusetts  after  the  passage  of  the 
Act  of  1850,  and  who  made  good  his  escape  from  the  officer,  —  were 
both  Norfolk  slaves. 
16* 


186  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

him  off  to  the  jail.  A  crowd  followed  them 
through  the  streets,  anxious  to  catch  a  glimpse  of 
the  "  Boston  Lion,"  as  their  excited  imaginations 
led  them  to  style  him.  He  was  thrown  into  the 
common  jail,  where  he  was  kept  in  solitude  for 
two  days,  without  bed  or  seat,  and  with  only  a 
single  meal  during  the  whole  period.  It  was  the 
first  greeting  which  slave-land  gave  to  its  recovered 
slave  —  starvation  in  prison.  On  Monday,  the 
voyage  was  resumed,  and  the  same  day  Burns  was 
landed  on  the  wharf  at  the  capital  of  Virginia. 

It  was  expected  that  Brent  would  meet  the  party 
on  their  arrival  in  Richmond,  but  he  failed  to  make 
his  appearance.  They  therefore  took  a  carriage 
and  were  driven  immediately  to  the  principal  hotel 
of  the  city.  There  the  deputy  marshal  and  his 
aids  took  lodgings,  but  Burns  was  delivered  into 
the  custody  of  an  officer,  by  whom  he  was  forthwith 
lodged  in  the  common  jail  for  safe  keeping. 

The  Federal  Government  had  at  length  per 
formed  the  task  which  it  had  undertaken.  A  vast 
amount  of  money  had  been  expended;  time,  human 
life,  the  national  reputation,  and  the  law  of  nature 
had  been  sacrificed  in  order*to  restore  a  single  slave 
to  his  master :  but  it  was  thought  that  the  political 
well-being  of  the  nation  required  it  all.  The  result 
demonstrated  that  the  fugitive  slave  act  was  the 
most  costly,  as  it  was  the  most  infamous,  upon  the 
statute-book ;  and  it  produced  the  certain  convic 
tion  that  the  next  attempt  to  execute  it  m  the 


THE  TRADER'S  JAIL.  187 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  would  prove 
more  costly  still. 

In  the  jail,  Anthony  remained  uncared  for  during 
ten  days.  He  was  indulged  with  the  freedom  of 
the  jail-yard  and  no  task  was  assigned  him.  A 
moderate  allowance  of  coarse  food,  twice  a  day, 
was  all  that  he  had  to  satisfy  his  hunger.  On 
being  incarcerated,  his  person  was  searched  and 
his  knife  and  some  money  were  taken  from  him. 
These  were  never  restored,  southern  jailers  not  dis 
daining  to  rob  even  slaves  of  their  small  posses 
sions.  At  the  end  of  ten  days,  Brent  presented 
himself  at  the  jail.  He  was  in  no  gracious  mood. 
Incidentally,  he  had  been  informed  that  Anthony 
had  denied  to  some  persons  having  any  acquaint 
ance  with  him.  To  be  ignored  by  a  slave  under 
his  own  charge  was  too  much  for  the  equanimity 
of  Mr.  Brent,  and,  on  first  meeting  Anthony,  he 
compromised  his  dignity  by  betraying  the  cause  of 
his  spleen.  The  ruffled  feathers  were  smoothed  by 
a  quiet  denial  of  the  absurd  accusation  on  the  part 
of  Burns. 

Brent  was  accompanied  to  the  jail  by  one  Robert 
Lumpkin,  a  noted  trader  in  slaves.  This  man  be 
longed  to  a  class  of  persons  by  whose  society  the 
slaveholders  of  the  South  profess  to  feel  disgraced, 
but  with  whose  services,  nevertheless,  they  cannot 
dispense.  He  had  formerly  been  engaged  exclu 
sively  in  the  traffic  in  slaves.  Roaming  over  the 
country,  and  picking  up  a  husband  here,  a  wife 
there,  a  mother  in  one  place,  and  an  alluring 


188  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

maiden  in  another,  he  banded  them  with  iron  links 
into  a  coffle  and  sent  them  to  the  far  southern 
market.  By  his  ability  and  success  in  this  remorse 
less  business,  he  had  greatly  distinguished  himself, 
and  had  come  to  be  known  as  a  "  bully  trader." 
At  this  time,  however,  he  had  abandoned  the  busi 
ness  of  an  itinerant  trader,  and  was  established  in 
Richmond  as  the  proprietor  of  a  Trader's  Jail.  In 
this  he  kept  and  furnished  with  board  such  slaves 
as  were  brought  into  the  city  for  sale,  and,  generally, 
all  such  as  their  owners  wished  to  punish  or  to 
provide  with  temporary  safe  keeping.  He  also 
kept  a  boarding-house  for  the  owners  themselves. 
Lumpkin's  Jail  was  one  of  the  prominent  and 
characteristic  features  of  the  capital  of  Virginia. 
It  was  a  large  brick  structure,  three  stories  in  height, 
situated  in  the  outskirts  of  Richmond,  and  sur 
rounded  by  an  acre  of  ground.  The  whole  was 
enclosed  by  a  high,  close  fence,  the  top  of  which 
was  thickly  set  with  iron  spikes. 

To  the  proprietor  of  this  prison,  Burns  was  now 
delivered  up  by  Brent.  He  was  ordered  by  Lump- 
kin  to  put  his  hands  behind  him;  this  done,  the 
jail-keeper  proceeded  to  fasten  them  together  in 
that  position  with  a  pair  of  iron  handcuffs.  Then, 
directing  Anthony  to  move  on  before,  he  followed 
him  closely  behind  until  they  arrived  at  his  jail. 

Here  he  was  destined  to  suffer,  for  four  months, 
such  revolting  treatment  as  the  vilest  felons  never 
undergo,  and  such  as  only  revengeful  slaveholders 
can  inflict.  The  place  of  his  confinement  was  a 


THE  TRADER'S  JAIL.  189 

room  only  six  or  eight  feet  square,  in  the  upper 
story  of  the  jail,  which  was  accessible  only  through 
a  trap-door.  He  was  allowed  neither  bed  nor 
chair ;  a  rude  bench  fastened  against  the  wall  and 
a  single  coarse  blanket  were  the  only  means  of  re 
pose.  After  entering  his  cell,  the  handcuffs  were 
not  removed,  but,  in  addition,  fetters  were  placed 
upon  his  feet.  In  this  manacled  condition  he  was 
kept  during  the  greater  part  of  his  confinement. 
The  torture  which  he  suffered,  in  consequence,  was 
excruciating.  The  gripe  of  the  irons  impeded  the 
circulation  of  his  blood,  made  hot  and  rapid  by 
the  stifling  atmosphere,  and  caused  his  feet  to  swell 
enormously.  The  flesh  was  worn  from  his  wrists, 
and  when  the  wounds  had  healed,  there  remained 
broad  scars  as  perpetual  witnesses  against  his  owner. 
The  fetters  also  prevented  him  from  removing  his 
clothing  by  day  or  night,  and  no  one  came  to  help 
him ;  the  indecency  resulting  from  such  a  condition 
is  too  revolting  for  description,  or  even  thought. 
His  room  became  more  foul  and  noisome  than  the 
hovel  of  a  brute ;  loathsome  creeping  things  multi 
plied  and  rioted  in  the  filth.  His  food  consisted 
of  a  piece  of  coarse  corn-bread  and  the  parings  of 
bacon  or  putrid  meat.  This  fare,  supplied  to  him 
once  a  day,  he  was  compelled  to  devour  without 
plate,  knife,  or  fork.  Immured,  as  he  was,  in  a 
narrow,  unventilated  room,  beneath  the  heated  roof 
of  the  jail,  a  constant  supply  of  fresh  water  would 
have  been  a  heavenly  boon ;  but  the  only  means 
of  quenching  his  thirst  was  the  nauseating  contents 


190  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

of  a  pail  that  was  replenished  only  once  or  twice 
a  week.  Living  under  such  an  accumulation  of 
atrocities,  he  at  length  fell  seriously  ill.  This 
brought  about  some  mitigation  of  his  treatment ; 
his  fetters  were  removed  for  a  time,  and  he  was 
supplied  with  broth,  which,  compared  with  his  pre 
vious  food,  was  luxury  itself. 

When  first  confined  in  the  jail,  he  became  an 
object  of  curiosity  to  all  who  had  heard  of  his  case, 
and  twenty  or  thirty  persons  in  a  day  would  call  to 
gaze  upon  him.  On  these  occasions,  his  fetters 
were  taken  off  and  he  was  conducted  down  to  the 
piazza  in  front  of  the  jail.  His  visitors  improved 
the  opportunity  to  express  their  opinion  of  his 
deserts ;  having  no  pecuniary  interest  in  his  life, 
they  were  anxious  that  it  should  be  sacrificed  for 
the  general  good  of  slaveholders.  When  curiosity 
was  satisfied,  he  would  be  led  back  to  his  cell,  and 
again  placed  in  irons.  These  exhibitions  occurred 
ordinarily  once  a  day  during  the  first  two  or  three 
weeks,  and,  though  humiliating,  furnished  a  relief 
to  the  solitude  of  his  confinement.  There  were 
other  slaves  in  the  jail,  who  were  allowed  more  or 
less  intercourse  with  each  other ;  but  between  them 
and  Burns  all  communication  was  strictly  pro- 
Jiibited.  The  taint  of  freedom  was  upon  him,  and 
infection  was  dreaded. 

His  residence  in  the  jail  gave  him  an  opportu 
nity  of  gaining  new  views  of  the  system  of  slavery. 
One  day  his  attention  was  attracted  by  a  noise  in 
the  room  beneath  him.  There  was  a  sound  as  of 


THE  TRADER'S  JAIL.  191 

a  woman  entreating  and  sobbing,  and  of  a  man 
addressing  to  her  commands  mingled  with  oaths. 
Looking  down  through  a  crevice  in  the  floor, 
Burns  beheld  a  slave  woman  stark  naked  in  the 
presence  of  two  men.  One  of  them  was  an  over 
seer,  and  the  other  a  person  who  had  come  to  pur 
chase  a  slave.  The  overseer  had  compelled  the 
woman  to  disrobe  in  order  that  the  purchaser  might 
see  for  himself  whether  she  was  well  formed  and 
sound  in  'body.  Burns  was  horror-stricken ;  all 
his  previous  experience  had  not  made  him  aware 
of  such  an  outrage.  This,  however,  was  not  an 
exceptional  case;  he  found  it  was  the  ordinary 
custom  in  Lumpldn's  jail  thus  to  expose  the  naked 
person  of  the  slave,  both  male  and  female,  to  the 
inspection  of  the  purchaser.  A  wider  range  of 
observation  would  have  enabled  him  to  see  that  it 
was  the  universal  custom  in  the  slave  states. 

In  spite  of  the  interdict  under  which  he  was  laid, 
Burns  found  a  method  of  communicating  with 
other  slaves  in  the  jail.  It  has  been  stated  that 
during  his  illness  he  was  released  from  his  fetters 
and  supplied  with  broth.  The  spoon  given  him  to 
eat  with,  on  that  occasion,  he  contrived  to  secrete, 
and  when  alone,  he  used  it  in  enlarging  a  small 
hole  in  the  floor.  It  was  just  behind  the  trap-door, 
by  which,  when  thrown  open,  it  was  entirely  hidden 
from  view,  and  thus  escaped  discovery.  Through 
this  hole  Burns  made  known  his  situation  to  some 
slaves  in  a  room  below,  and  at  once  enlisted  their 
sympathies.  The  intercourse  thus  established  was 


192  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

afterward  regularly  maintained.  To  avoid  detec 
tion,  it  was  carried  on  only  at  dead  of  night ; 
then,  throwing  himself  prostrate  upon  the  floor  and 
applying  his  mouth  to  the  aperture,  Burns  whiled 
away  hour  after  hour  in  converse  with  his  more 
fortunate  fellow  bondmen.  He  filled  their  eager 
and  wondering  ears  with  the  story  of  his  escape 
from  bondage,  his  free  and  happy  life  at  the  North, 
his  capture,  and  the  mighty  effort  that  it  cost  the 
Government  to  restore  him  to  Virginia.  He  was 
then*  Columbus,  telling  them  of  the  land,  to  them 
unknown,  which  he  had  visited ;  inspiring  them 
with  longings  to  follow  in  his  track ;  and  warning 
them,  out  of  his  own  experience,  of  the  perils  to 
be  avoided.  On  their  part,  they  communicated  to 
him  such  information  as  their  less  restricted  con 
dition  had  enabled  them  to  obtain.  Conversation 
was  not  the  only  advantage  that  he  derived  from 
this  quarter.  His  new  friends  furnished  him  with 
tobacco  and  matches,  so  that,  during  the  long  night 
watches,  he  was  able  to  solace  himself  by  smoking. 
After  a  while,  he  found  a  friend  in  the  family  of 
Lumpkin.  The  wife  of  this  man  was  a  "  yellow 
woman  "  whom  he  had  married  as  much  from  ne 
cessity  as  from  choice,  the  white  women  of  the 
South  refusing  to  connect  themselves  with  professed 
slave  traders.  This  woman  manifested  her  com 
passion  for  Burns  by  giving  him  a  testament  and  a 
hymn-book.  Upon  most  slaves  these  gifts  would 
have  been  thrown  away  ;  fortunately  for  Burns,  he 
had  learned  to  read,  and  the  books  proved  a  very 


THE  TRADER'S  JAIL.  193 

treasure.  Besides  the  yellow  wife,  Lumpkin  had 
a  black  concubine,  and  she  also  manifested  a 
friendly  spirit  toward  the  prisoner.  The  house  of 
Lumpkin  was  separated  from  the  jail  only  by  the 
yard,  and  from  one  of  the  upper  windows  the  girl 
contrived  to  hold  conversations  with  Anthony, 
whose  apartment  was  directly  opposite.  Her  com 
passion,  it  is  not  unlikely,  changed  into  a  warmer 
feeling;  she  was  discovered  one  day  by  her  lord 
and  master;  what  he  overheard  roused  his  jealousy, 
and  he  took  effectual  means  to  break  off  the  inter 
course. 

In  the  search  of  Anthony's  person  at  the  com 
mon  jail,  some  things  had  escaped  discovery.  He 
had  concealed  between  the  parts  of  his  clothing  a 
little  money,  some  writing  paper,  and  a  pen,  and 
these  he  still  retained.  Ink  only  was  wanting,  and 
this,  through  the  aid  of  his  prison  friends,  he  also 
secured.  Thus  furnished,  he  wrote  several  letters 
to  his  friends  at  a  distance ;  in  all  there  were  six, 
two  of  which  were  addressed  to  persons  in  Boston. 
To  secure  their  transmission  to  the  post-office,  he 
adopted  the  following  method :  The  letter  was 
fastened  to  a  piece  of  brick  dug  from  the  wall ; 
then  watching  at  his  window  until  he  saw  some 
negro  passing  outside  the  jail  fence,  he  contrived 
by  signs  to  attract  his  attention  and  throw  to  him 
the  letter.  The  passer-by  was  in  all  probability 
an  entire  stranger,  as  well  as  a  person  unable  to 
read,  yet  Burns  trusted,  not  unreasonably,  that  his 
wishes  would  be  rightly  interpreted,  and  that  his 
17 


194  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

letters  would  reach  the  post-office.  No  answers 
were  expected  in  return,  none  would  have  reached 
him  had  they  been  written.  The  postmaster  at 
the  South,  albeit  an  officer  of  the  Federal  Govern 
ment,  is  not  the  less  an  obsequious  servant  of  the 
slaveholder.  If  a  letter  addressed  to  a  slave  bears 
a  southern  post-mark,  it  is  delivered  to  its  claim 
ant  without  question  ;  but  when  the  post-mark  in 
dicates  a  northern  origin,  the  postmaster  withholds 
it  from  the  claimant,  inquires  his  master's  name, 
arid  then  deposits  it  in  the  latter's  box.  If  the  let 
ter  is  found  to  be  objectionable,  it  is  destroyed  and 
nothing  is  said  about  it ;  if  otherwise,  the  master 
reads  to  his  slave  such  portions  as  he  sees  fit. 
One  of  the  letters  written  by  Burns  was  addressed 
to  Col.  Suttle,  giving  an  account  of  his  illness. 
Suttle  immediately  wrote  to  Brent  upon  the  sub 
ject,  and  the  confounded  agent  hastened  to  the  jail 
for  an  explanation.  Burns  frankly  told  him  of  the 
manner  in  which  he  had  despatched  his  letters  to 
the  post-office,  and  enjoyed  not  a  little  his  visitor's 
astonishment  at  the  revelation.  The  consequence 
was  that  Brent  deprived  him  of  his  pen  in  the 
vain  hope  of  putting  an  end  to  his  letter-writing. 

After  lying  in  the  jail  four  months,  his  imprison 
ment  came  to  an  end.  It  had  been  determined  to 
sell  him,  and  the  occurrence  of  a  fair  in  Richmond 
presented  a  favorable  opportunity.  Accordingly, 
his  manacles  were  knocked  off,  his  person  was  put 
in  decent  trim,  and  he  was  led  forth  to  the  auction 
room.  A  large  crowd  of  persons  was  already  as- 


THE  TRADER'S  JAIL.  195 

sembled.  As  he  stepped  upon  the  auction  block, 
he  saw  standing  a  few  feet  off,  Col.  Suttle,  who  at 
once  saluted  him  with  the  old,  "  How  d'ye  do, 
'Tony?"  This  was  the  first  interview  between 
master  and  slave  that  had  taken  place  since  Col. 
Suttle  left  the  revenue  cutter  for  New  York.  Pres 
ently  the  auctioneer  ordered  him  to  face  round, 
and  Col.  Suttle  was  lost  to  his  view.  While  thus 
standing,  the  voice  of  Col.  Suttle  fell  upon  his  ear, 
saying  to  the  auctioneer,  "  Don't  sell  him  to  a 
Yankee  trader."  Glancing  his  eyes  one  side, 
Burns  caught  another  sight  of  his  master;  it 
proved  to  be  the  last,  as  the  words  addressed  to 
the  auctioneer  were  the  last  words  that  Burns 
ever  heard  him  speak.  Vindictiveness  toward  the 
offending  slave,  and  bad  faith  toward  the  North, 
marked  the  spirit  in  which  Col.  Suttle  finally 
severed  the  relation  between  himself  and  Anthony 
Burns. 

The  elevation  of  Burns  upon  the  block,  in  full 
view,  was  the  signal  for  an  explosion  of  wrathful 
feeling.  Angry  speeches  were  made  about  him 
and  he  was  personally  insulted.  The  violence  of 
one  encouraged  that  of  another,  and  the  tumult, 
momently  increasing,  threatened  to  burst  over  all 
bounds.  For  awhile,  Burns  stood  in  imminent 
peril  of  his  life.  With  much  ado,  the  more  rational 
portion  succeeded  at  length  in  calming  the  fury  of 
the  rest,  and  the  auction  was  allowed  to  proceed. 
It  was  commenced  by  a  bid  of  ten  dollars  from 
the  auctioneer.  No  one  offered  more,  and  for  a 


196  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

long  time  the  sale  hung  on  that  bid.  At  length 
the  auctioneer  bethought  him  to  mention  that 
Burns  was  a  preacher.  This  caused  the  bidding 
to  move  on,  and,  in  the  end,  he  was  knocked  down 
for  $905,  to  David  McDaniel,  of  Rocky  Mount, 
North  Carolina.  Four  months  before,  Col.  Suttle 
had  refused  to  accept  twelve  hundred  dollars  from 
the  northern  friends  of  Burns.  Meanwhile  he  had 
lost  the  interest  on  that  amount,  had  lost  the  ser 
vices  of  his  slave  for  that  length  of  time,  and  for 
that  length  of  time  had  been  compelled  to  pay  his 
board.  The  whole  transaction,  while  it  revealed 
the  true  character  of  Col.  Suttle,  furnished  an  im 
pressive  illustration  of  slaveholding  thrift. 

The  sale  was  no  sooner  over,  than  Burns  was 
hurried  back  to  his  old  quarters  in  the  jail.  Thither 
his  new  owner  shortly  followed,  and  in  a  personal 
interview  made  known  his  wishes. 

"  I  understand,"  said  he  to  Burns,  "  thtfjt  you  are 
a  preacher.  Now,  I  have  a  great  many  other 
slaves,  and  you  are  not  to  preach  to  them;  If  you 
want  to  preach  to  anybody,  preach  to  me." 

He  demanded  of  his  new  slave  a  pledge  that  he 
would  conform  to  this  requirement.  Anthony  re 
fused  to  give  it,  but  at  the  same  time  promised  to 
be  a  faithful  servant  so  long  as  he  should  remain 
with  McDaniel,  provided  he  was  well  used.  Other 
wise,  he  distinctly  avowed  his  determination  to 
run  away  on  the  first  opportunity.  This  frankness 
pleased  the  slaveholder.  His  countenance  relaxed, 
and  telling  Anthony  that  he  liked  his  pluck,  he  de- 


THE  TRADER'S  JAIL.  197 

clared  that  he  had  no  fears  of  his  running  away. 
The  interview  resulted  in  establishing  between 
them  a  good  understanding  that  was  never  after 
ward  seriously  interrupted. 

To  avoid  the  hazards  of  a  mob,  McDaniel 
found  it  prudent  to  remove  his  obnoxious  slave 
from  the  city  by  night.  About  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  the  two  stole  forth  from  the  jail  and 
made  their  way  to  the  railroad  station.  Taking 
passage  in  the  next  train,  they  were  soon  set  down 
at  Rocky  Mount  in  the  northeastern  part  of  North 
Carolina.  McDaniel's  plantation  lay  at  a  distance 
of  three  or  four  miles,  and  thither  they  were  con 
veyed  in  a  private  vehicle. 
17* 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE   RANSOMED   FREEDMAN. 

AT  Rocky  Mount,  Burns  entered  on  the  last 
stage  of  his  life  as  a  slave.  He  was  there  intro 
duced  to  new  scenes  and  subjected  to  new  influ 
ences.  His  new  master  was  a  different  person 
from  Col.  Suttle.  He  possessed  a  more  marked 
character,  and  a  far  greater  capacity  for  business. 
In  person  he  was  short  but  stout,  with  a  large 
head,  and  a  countenance  indicative  of  firmness, 
courage,  and  decision.  He  had  an  iron  will  that 
was  made  the  law  for  all  within  his  sphere ;  but 
he  could  appreciate  and  honor  manly  qualities  in 
others.  While  his  sharp,  stern  style  of  address 
would  cause  most  persons  to  shrink  away,  he  was 
not  displeased  when  any  one  had  the  courage  to 
stand  up  and  confront  him  with  manly  self-asser 
tion.  Though  he  practically  manifested  but  little 
respect  for  the  decalogue,  he  made  it  a  point  of 
honor  to  fulfill  his  engagements. 

The  business  of  Mr.  McDaniel  was  that  of  a 
planter,  slave-trader,  and  horse-dealer  combined. 
He  possessed  an  extensive  plantation,  which  was 
chiefly  devoted  to  the  culture  of  cotton.  For  the 
management  of  this,  he  kept  constantly  ifi  Jj^is  ser- 

(198) 


THE  RANSOMED  FREEDMAN.         199 

vice  a  large  body  of  slaves.  The  number  of  these 
was  constantly  changing.  Sometimes  there  would 
be  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  fifty  on  the  planta 
tion  at  once ;  sometimes  not  more  than  seventy- 
five.  This  fluctuation  was  owing  to  the  purcWase 
and  sale  that  was  constantly  going  on.  The  plan 
tation  was  made  subservient  to  the  slave-trading. 
The  slaves  were  always  for  sale,  but,  while  waiting 
for  customers,  they  were  kept  at  work  instead  of 
lying  idle  in  barracoons.  When  a  customer  of 
fered,  he  was  accommodated,  and  when  the  stock 
ran  low,  it  was  replenished. 

The  domestic  relations  of  McDaniel  were  in 
keeping  with  his  character  and  pursuits.  His  wife 
stood  in  great  fear  of  him.  She  presided  over  his 
household,  but  neither  inspired  nor  enjoyed  his 
respect.  The  tender  bond  of  children  was  also 
wanting  between  them.  He  kept  a  harem  of  black 
girls,  and  took  no  pains  to  conceal  the  fact  from 
his  wife.  By  some  of  these,  children  were  bom 
to  him,  but,  true  to  his  instincts  as  a  slave-trader, 
he  made  merchandise  of  them  and  their  mothers 
without  compunction. 

The  post  which  was  assigned  to  Burns  by  his 
new  owner  was  that  of  coachman  and  stable- 
keeper.  As  a  horse-dealer,  McDaniel  kept  on  hand 
a  large  stock  of  horses  and  mules,  often  as  many 
as  a  hundred  at  once.  The  stables  of  these  ani 
mals  were  placed  under  the  charge  of  Burns,  and 
he  held  the  keys.  But  he  was  required  to  groom 
and  serve  only  the  carriage-horses  and  his  master's 


200  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

filly;  the  rest  of  the  animals  were  cared  for  by 
other  slaves.  Whenever  his  mistress  was  inclined 
to  take  an  airing,  or  visit  a  neighbor,  or  ride  to 
church,  it  devolved  on  him  to  drive  her  carriage. 
The  whole  service  which  he  was  thus  required  to 
perform  was  light  and  pleasant. 

His  personal  accommodations  were  better  than 
they  had  ever  been  before.  Instead  of  being  com 
pelled  to  turn  in  with  the  slaves  at  their  quarters, 
he  had  a  lodging  assigned  him  in  an  office,  and 
partook  of  his  meals  in  the  master's  house.  He 
was  allowed  to  obtain  what  he  wanted  at  a  store 
of  which  McDaniel  was  the  proprietor.  His  re 
ligious  privileges  were  less  attended  to.  Twice 
only,  during  his  four  months'  servitude,  was  he 
able  to  attend  church  on  Sunday.  Whenever  he 
drove  his  mistress  to  church,  which  was  not  often, 
he  was  required  to  wait  with  the  horses  outside 
while  she  worshipped  within.  It  has  been  seen 
that  he  refused  to  give  his  owner  a  pledge  to  re 
frain  from  preaching  among  the  slaves.  In  this  he 
was  governed  by  a  sense  of  duty.  He  had  been 
regularly  invested  with  the  office  of  a  slave- 
preacher,  and  it  was  his  purpose  to  exercise  it  as 
he  had  opportunity.  Accordingly,  during  his  pe 
riod  of  service  with  McDaniel,  he  succeeded  in 
holding,  at  various  times,  six  or  eight  preaching- 
meetings  among  the  slaves  on  the  plantation. 
Once  he  was  discovered,  but  his  master  chose  to 
take  no  notice  of  the  offence.  The  manliness  and 
general  good  disposition  of  Burns  so  won  his  re- 


THE  RANSOMED  FREEDMAN.        201 

gard,  that  he  tolerated  in  him  what  he  would  have 
punished  in  another.  On  his  part,  Burns  was 
deeply  impressed  by  the  liberal  treatment  of  his 
master,  and  he  subsequently  declared  that  he  could 
not,  in  conscience,  have  run  away  so  long  as  it 
continued.  It  was  a  matter  of  special  favor  that 
he  was  not  placed  under  the  control  of  an  overseer, 
but  was  held  accountable  only  to  his  master.  The 
office  in  which  he  lodged  was  shared  with  him  by 
one  of  the  overseers.  This  equality  of  their  con 
dition,  or  some  other  cause,  impelled  the  overseer 
to  pick  a  quarrel  with  Burns,  and  he  carried  it  so 
far  as  once  to  draw  a  pistol  upon  him.  Burns 
made  complaint  of  the  assault  to  McDaniel,  from 
whom,  in  consequence,  the  overseer  received  a  stern 
rebuke. 

His  relations  with  his  mistress  were  less  agreea 
ble.  In  striving  to  please  his  master  he  displeased 
her.  McDaniel  had  given  him  express  instructions 
to  pay  no  heed  to  her  commands,  if  they  conflicted 
with  his  own.  Once,  in  his  absence,  she  demanded 
of  Burns  his  master's  favorite  saddle-horse  for  her 
own  use.  On  his  refusing,  she  took  the  animal 
and  rode  off.  In  the  mean  time,  McDaniel  returned, 
and,  finding  what  had  happened,  gave  his  wife  a 
severe  reprimand  and  justified  Burns. 

Buried  thus  in  the  obscurities  of  slavery,  An 
thony  remained  for  some  months  wholly  lost  to 
the  knowledge  of  his  northern  friends.  All  efforts 
on  their  part  to  discover  his  retreat  were  fruitless. 
On  the  other  hand,  several  letters  which  he  had 


202  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

written  to  them,  and  which  would  have  imparted 
the  desired  information,  never  reached  their  desti 
nation  ;  probably  they  were  never  suffered  to  leave 
the  post-office  in  which  he  had  deposited  them. 
At  length,  an  accident  revealed  the  place  of  his 
abode.  He  had  one  day  driven  his  mistress  in  her 
carriage  to  the  house  of  a  neighbor,  and,  while  sit 
ting  on  the  box,  was  pointed  out  to  the  family  as 
the  slave  whose  case  had  excited  such  commotion 
throughout  the  country.  It  chanced  that  a  young 
lady  residing  in  the  family  heard  the  statement,  and 
by  her  it  was  repeated  in  a  letter  to  her  sister  in 
Massachusetts.  By  the  latter  the  story  was  re 
lated  in  a  social  circle  where  the  Rev.  G.  S.  Stock- 
well,  one  of  the  clergymen  of  the  place,  happened 
to  be  present.  This  person  immediately  addressed 
a  letter  to  Anthony's  owner,  inquiring  if  the  slave 
could  be  purchased.  An  answer  was  promptly 
returned  that  he  might  be  purchased  for  thirteen 
hundred  dollars.  This  information  was  communi 
cated  to  Mr.  Grimes,  accompanied  by  a  declaration 
that  it  was  the  purpose  of  the  clergyman  to  free 
Anthony,  and  also  by  an  inquiry  as  to  the  amount 
of  money  which  could  be  obtained  in  Boston  for 
the  purpose.  Mr.  Grimes  returned  answer,  after 
making  some  inquiry  of  former  subscribers,  that 
he  thought  one  half  of  the  sum  might  be  obtained 
in  Boston.  It  was  accordingly  agreed  that  the 
labor  of  obtaining  the  whole  amount  should  be 
equally  divided  between  the  two.  A  fortnight 
after,  however,  Mr.  Stockwell  wrote  Mr.  Grimes 


THE  RANSOMED  FREEDMAN.         203 

that  he  should  try  to  secure  seventy-five  dollars  for 
expenses,  and  urged  Mr.  Grimes  to  get  the  thirteen 
hundred  dollars  as  soon  as  possible.  Thus  the 
whole  responsibility  of  the  affair  was  once  more 
thrown  upon  Mr.  Grimes. 

It  was  not  by  accident  that  this  man  became  a 
chief  actor  in  the  transactions  narrated  in  this 
volume.  His  life  had  been  consecrated  to  this 
sort  of  service,  and  he  was  now  only  continuing 
what  he  had  long  before  begun.  An  outline  of 
his  previous  history  will  be  a  proper  introduction 
to  the  account  of  his  further,  and,  as  the  event 
proved,  successful,  efforts  for  the  liberation  of 
Anthony  Burns. 

Born  in  Virginia  in  the  midst  of  slavery,  though 
of  free  parents,  Leonard  A.  Grimes  was  yet 
slightly  connected  by  blood  with  the  oppressed 
race.  Left  an  orphan  at  the  age  of  ten  years,  he 
was  placed  in  the  charge  of  an  uncle,  but  the  new 
home  did  not  prove  to  be  a  pleasant  one.  Being 
taken  to  his  native  place  on  a  visit,  he  refused 
again  to  become  an  inmate  of  his  uncle's  family, 
and  soon  after  went  to  reside  in  "Washington. 
There  he  passed  several  years  of  his  life,  first  in  the 
capacity  of  a  butcher's  boy  standing  in  the  public 
market,  and  subsequently  as  an  apothecary's  clerk. 
At  length  he  attracted  the  favorable  regards  of  a 
slaveholder,  into  whose  service  he  was  persuaded 
to  enter  upon  hire.  He  became  the  confidential 
agent  of  his  employer,  and  a  deserved  favorite 
with  all  the  members  of  his  family.  But  neither 


204  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

gratitude  for  kindness,  nor  love  of  gain,  could 
induce  him  to  become  a  participator  in  the  great 
wrong  of  slavery.  Offered  the  post  of  overseer, 
which  had  become  vacant,  with  a  salary  tenfold 
his  pay,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  refuse  it.  Far 
enough  from  any  taint  of  abolitionism  at  the  time, 
a  sort  of  unconscious  abhorrence  of  slavery  pre 
served  him  from  the  contamination. 

The  business  of  his  employer  often  led  him  on 
long  journeys  through  the  southern  States,  when  he 
was  accompanied  by  young  Grimes.  On  one  of 
these  occasions,  as  they  were  riding  through  a 
patch  of  forest  in  North  Carolina,  the  screams  of 
a  woman  pierced  their  ears.  On  gaming  the  open 
country,  they  beheld  near  the  road-side  a  female 
slave  naked  to  the  waist,  and  by  her  side  an  over 
seer  lashing  her  with  his  heavy  thong.  The  dark 
surface  of  her  back  was  already  barred  with  broad 
red  stripes,  while  the  blood  poured  down  her  limbs 
and  stood  in  little  pools  at  her  feet.  The  employer 
of  Grimes  was  a  humane  man,  though  a  slave 
holder,  and  his  blood  boiled  at  the  sight.  Draw 
ing  a  pistol,  and  riding  up  to  the  miscreant,  he 
ordered  him  to  desist  or  he  would  instantly  shoot 
him  through.  The  overseer  sullenly  replied  that 
he  was  punishing  the  woman  because  she  had 
come  late  to  her  work.  "  My  baby  was  dying,  and 
will  be  dead  before  I  see  it  again,"  interposed  the 
wretched  mother  by  way  of  excuse.  She  was 
roughly  ordered  off  to  her  work,  and  the  slave- 


THE  RANSOMED  FREEDMAN.         205 

holder,  still  keeping  a  vigilant  eye  on  the  move 
ments  of  the  overseer,  rode  on  his  way. 

This  scene  wrought  a  revolution  in  young 
Grimes.  It  was  his  first  vision  of  the  bloody 
horrors  of  slavery,  and  it  made  him  the  uncompro 
mising  and  life-long  foe  of  that  atrocious  institu 
tion.  Until  now  he  had  never  been  led  to  reflect 
upon  the  true  character  of  the  institution  of  slavery 
in  the  midst  of  which  he  had  been  bom  and  nur 
tured.  The  sight  of  the  bleeding  mother,  in  her 
double  agony  of  separation  from  her  dying  child 
and  of  ignominious  torture  in  her  own  person, 
produced  a  shock  that  threw  wide  open  his  eyes 
and  forever  dispelled  his  indifference.  His  physical 
system  became  disordered;  "I  grew  sick,"  said  he, 
"  and  felt  a  sensation  as  of  water  running  off  my 
bowels.  I  longed  for  permission  from  my  em 
ployer  to  shoot  the  man  dead." 

Returning  home,  he  soon  had  an  opportunity  to 
put  in  practice  the  new  purpose  of  his  heart.  A 
female  slave  on  a  neighboring  plantation  had 
received  from  an  overseer  thirty  lashes  for  attend 
ing  a  religious  meeting,  and  had  fled  to  the  estate 
of  Grimes's  employer,  one  of  whose  slaves  was  her 
husband.  The  case  was  brought  to  the  knowledge 
of  Grimes,  and  by  him  she  was  soon  put  upon  the 
road  to  Canada,  whither  her  husband  shortly  fol 
lowed  her.  This  was  his  induction  into  an  office 
in  which  he  afterward  made  full  proof  of  his 
ministry  to  those  in  bondage 

Leaving  his  employer's  service,  he  purchased, 
18 


206  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

with  his  carefully  saved  earnings,  erne  or  two  car 
riages  and  horses,  and  set  himself  up  in  business  as 
a  hackman  in  the  city  of  Washington.  Prosperity 
attended  him ;  carriage  was  added  to  carriage,  and 
horse  to  horse,  until  he  became  one  of  the  fore 
most  in  his  line  of  business.  Thus  he  went  on  for 
twelve  years,  and  while  his  coaches  were  in  con 
stant  requisition  by  the  gentry  of  the  capital,  they 
were  not  seldom  placed  at  the  service  of  the  fugi 
tive  from  southern  bondage.  The  slaveholder 
oftentimes  pressed  the  seat  that  perhaps  the  day 
before  had  been  occupied  by  the  flying  slave. 

At  length  a  crisis  came.  The  wife  and  seven 
children  of  a  free  negro  were  about  to  be  sold  by 
their  master  to  a  southern  slave  trader,  and  sent  to 
the  far  south.  In  his  distress,  the  husband  and 
father  applied  to  the  man  who  kept  coaches  and 
horses  for  the  use  of  fugitive  slaves.  Mr.  Grimes 
was  not  backward  to  listen  to  his  cry.  Under  the 
cover  of  a  single  night's  darkness,  he  penetrated 
thirty  miles  into  Virginia,  brought  off  the  whole 
imperilled  family,  and  while  the  owner's  posse,  in 
hot  pursuit,  were,  five  hours  later,  blindly  groping 
after  them  in  Washington,  they  passed  in  disguise 
almost  before  the  hunters'  faces  on  their  way  to  the 
northern  land  of  freedom.  Three  months  after, 
Mr.  Grimes  was  arrested,  taken  into  Virginia,  and 
tried  for  his  offence.  The  jury  found  him  guilty, 
not  however  in  accordance  with  the  evidence, 
which  totally  failed,  but  to  save  their  own  lives 
and  the  life  of  the  prisoner  from  an  infuriated  mob 


THE  RANSOMED  FEEEDMAX.         207 

that  had  surrounded  the  Court  House  during  the 
whole  trial,  and  had  only  been  kept  from  invading 
the  hall  of  justice  and  committing  murder  by  the 
presence  of  a  strong  military  force.  Sentenced  to 
hard  labor  for  two  years  in  the  State  prison  at 
Richmond,  he  there,  through  the  instrumentality 
of  a  godly  slave,  (temporarily  placed  there  for  safe 
keeping  and  not  for  crime),  experienced  that  great 
spiritual  change  which  makes  all  things  new  for 
the  soul.  Like  Paul,  he  straightway  preached 
Jesus,  and  within  two  months,  five  of  the  prisoners 
were  made  partakers  with  him  of  that  freedom 
wherewith  Christ  maketh  free.  Returning  to 
Washington  at  the  expiration  of  his  sentence,  he 
prudently  abandoned  the  now,  for  him,  suspicious 
business  of  a  hackman,  and  contented  himself  with 
the  humbler  employment  of  jobbing  about  the  city 
with  a  "  furniture  car."  Having  been  admitted  into 
the  visible  church,  he  ere  long  felt  a  divine  impulse 
to  preach  the  gospel.  After  due  examination  by  a 
council  of  which  the  President  of  Columbian 
College  was  moderator,  he  received  license  to 
preach.  Without  abandoning  the  business  of  job 
bing,  he  exercised  his  gift  of  preaching  as  opportu 
nity  offered.  But  the  atmosphere  of  Washington 
did  not  permit  him  to  breathe  freely,  and  he  sought 
a  home  in  a  free  State. 

Coming  to  Boston,  he  found  there  many  fugitive 
slaves,  wandering  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd. 
He  gathered  them  into  a  large  upper  room  and 
preached  to  them  the  gospel.  They  entreated  him 


208  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

to  remain  and  minister  to  them.  He  consented ; 
attendants  on  his  ministry  multiplied,  and  soon  a 
church  of  fugitive  slaves  was  organized  in  the 
metropolis  of  New  England.  The  upper  room 
became  too  strait  for  them,  and,  through  the  zeal 
and  energy  of  Mr.  Grimes,  a  commodious  and 
handsome  structure  began  to  rise  from  its  founda 
tions.  Then  came  the  fugitive  slave  act,  pouring 
ruin  on  this  thriving  exotic  from  the  south.  The 
church  was  arrested  midway  toward  its  comple 
tion,  and  the  members  were  scattered  in  wild  dis 
may.  More  than  forty  fled  to  Canada.  One  of 
their  number,  Shadrach,  was  seized,  but,  more  for 
tunate  than  the  hapless  Sims,  who  had  no  fellow 
ship  with  them,  he  succeeded  in  making  good  his 
escape.  When  the  first  fury  of  the  storm  had 
blown  over,  Mr.  Grimes  set  himself  with  redoubled 
energy  to  repair  the  wastes  that  had  been  made. 
He  collected  money  from  the  charitable,  and  pur 
chased  the  members  of  his  church  out  of  slavery 
that  they  might  return  without  fear  to  the  fold. 
He  made  friends  among  the  rich,  who  advanced 
funds  for  the  completion  of  his  church.  At  length 
it  was  finished,  and,  as  if  for  an  omen  of  good, 
was  dedicated  on  the  first  day  when  Burns  stood 
for  trial  before  Mr.  Commissioner  Loring.1  In 

1  The  church  is  a  neat  and  commodious  brick  structure,  two  sto 
ries  in  height,  and  handsomely  finished  in  the  interior.  It  will  seat 
five  or  six  hundred  people.  The  whole  cost,  including  the  land, 
was  $13,000,  of  which,  through  the  exertions  of  Mr.  Grimes,  $10,000 
have  already  been  paid.  The  engraving  is  an  accurate  representa 
tion  of  its  appearance. 


THE  RANSOMED  FREEDMAN.         209 

now  devoting  himself  to  the  ransom  of  this 
last  victim  of  the  oppressor,  he  but  added  one 
more  to  the  long  list  of  acts  that  had  given  char 
acter  to  his  whole  life. 

Finding  the  business  on  his  hands,  Mr.  Grimes 
proceeded  to  prompt  and  energetic  action.  His 
first  care  was  to  have  Mr.  McDaniel  informed  that 
his  terms  were  accepted ;  and  an  appointment  was 
made  to  meet  him  with  Anthony  in  Baltimore  on 
the  twenty-seventh  of  February,  and  there  com 
plete  the  negotiation.  He  then  laid  the  subject 
before  the  Baptist  clergy  of  Boston  at  then*  weekly 
meeting.  Most  of  them  entered  warmly  into  his 
plan  and  engaged  to  take  up  collections  in  then- 
several  churches.  The  same  course  was  pursued 
toward  the  clergy  of  other  denominations  with 
various  degrees  of  success.  From  these  sources, 
about  three  hundred  dollars  were  obtained.  Three 
of  the  old  subscribers  redeemed  their  pledges  by 
the  payment  of  one  hundred  dollars  each ;  and 
smaller  sums  were  obtained  from  other  persons  of 
less  means.  When  the  day  for  his  departure  for 
Baltimore  arrived,  Mr.  Grimes  had  succeeded  in 
collecting  only  six  hundred  and  seventy-six  dollars. 
At  the  last  moment,  it  seemed  likely  that  the  plan 
would  fall  through.  The  whole  sum  must  be  taken 
to  Baltimore,  and  Mr.  Grimes  had  no  means  of 
his  own  to  make  good  the  deficiency.  The  time 
had  been  fixed,  McDaniel  would  be  on  the  spot, 
and  finding  no  purchaser,  would  depart  in  a  state 
of  irritation  and  sell  Anthony  to  go  south,  as  he 
is* 


210  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

had  already  threatened  in  one  of  his  letters.  In 
this  emergency,  the  friendly  cashier  of  a  Boston 
bank  stepped  in  to  Mr.  Grimes's  relief.  He  received 
the  amount  already  collected,  accepted  the  note  of 
Mr.  Grimes  for  the  balance,  and  placed  in  his  hands 
a  cheque  on  a  Baltimore  bank  for  thirteen  hundred 
dollars.  Thus  furnished,  Mr.  Grimes  took  his  de 
parture  for  the  Monumental  city.  It  had  been 
agreed  that  he  should  be  accompanied  by  Mr. 
Stockwell,  but,  through  some  misunderstanding,  the 
latter  failed  to  appear  at  the  place  and  time  ap 
pointed.  Mr.  Grimes  proceeded  alone,  and  at 
eleven  o'clock  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  February 
arrived  at  Barnum's  Hotel  in  Baltimore. 

Meanwhile,  McDaniel  had  broken  the  subject  to 
Anthony.  On  receiving  the  first  letter  from  Mr. 
Stockwell,  he  asked  the  slave  if  he  had  been  writing 
letters  to  the  North.  Anthony  evaded  the  question. 
McDaniel  then  informed  him  of  Mr.  Stock  well's 
proposition  to  purchase  him,  and  inquired  if  he 
would  like  to  have  his  freedom.  Burns  hesitated  to 
answer,  fearing  that  he  should  be  entrapped.  He 
asked  permission  to  look  at  the  letter,  which  was 
readily  granted.  Finding  that  McDaniel  had  truth 
fully  represented  the  matter,  he  then  frankly  avowed 
his  desire  to  be  free  and  go  to  the  North.  Nothing 
more  passed  until  the  letter  was  received  which  an 
nounced  the  acceptance  of  McDaniel's  terms  and 
fixed  the  day  of  meeting  in  Baltimore.  Soon  after, 
Anthony  drove  his  master  to  the  railroad  station 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  train  to  Richmond. 


THE  RANSOMED  FREEDMAN.         211 

On  alighting,  Mr.  McDaniel  paced  the  ground  to 
and  fro,  absorbed  in  thought.  At  length  he  ad 
dressed  Anthony: 

"  I  am  going  to  tell  you  a  secret ;  you  must  com 
municate  it  to  no  one,  not  even  to  my  wife  ;  what 
do  you  think  it  is?"  continued  he,  after  a  pause. 

Anthony  professed  that  he  could  not  imagine, 
unless  it  was  that  some  news  had  come  from  the 
North.  McDaniel  then  informed  him  of  the  happy 
prospect  before  him,  and,  directing  him  to  be  in 
readiness  to  depart  for  Baltimore  on  the  following 
Monday,  once  more  repeated  his  injunction  of 
secrecy.  It  was  at  no  small  risk  to  himself  that  he 
was  about  to  set  at  defiance  the  public  sentiment 
of  the  South  by  sending  Anthony  back  to  the  North. 

Monday  morning  found  master  and  slave  on  their 
journey  northward  by  rail.  Before  they  had  pro 
ceeded  ten  miles,  MeDanieFs  apprehensions  were 
realized.  Through  the  carelessness  or  treachery  of 
a  friend  whom  McDaniel  had  made  a  confidant,  it 
became  known  that  the  obnoxious  fugitive  was  on 
board.  The  passengers  were  quickly  in  a  tumult, 
and  it  was  proposed  to  stop  the  train  and  put  the 
"  boy  "  out.  The  conductor  protested  that  had  he 
known  in  the  outset  who  Anthony  was  he  would 
not  have  permitted  him  to  enter  the  cars  at  all. 
The  firmness  of  McDaniel,  however,  held  the  mob 
spirit  in  check,  and  Anthony  was  at  length  suffered 
to  proceed  without  further  molestation. 

On  arriving  at  Norfolk,  they  immediately  went 
on  board  the  steamer  bound  for  Baltimore.  Leav- 


212  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

ing  Burns  in  the  vessel,  McDaniel  went  back  into 
the  city  to  transact  some  business.  Meantime,  the 
mischievous  passengers  of  the  railroad  train  had  cir 
culated  the  news  of  Anthony's  presence.  The  wasp 
ish  li ttle  city  was  at  once  thrown  into  angry  commo 
tion  and  forthwith  swarmed  in  a  body  on  board  the 
vessel.  There,  on  returning  soon  after,  McDaniel 
found  his  man  'Anthony  surrounded  by  the  chivalry 
of  Norfolk,  and  half  dead  through  fear  of  their 
threatened  violence.  Sending  him  below  deck, 
McDaniel  faced  the  excited  throng.  They  de 
manded  that  he  should  forego  his  purpose,  and 
offered  him  fifteen  hundred  dollars  for  his  slave. 
He  declined  the  offer.  They  then  pressed  him  to 
name  his  own  price.  His  reply  was  that  he  had 
agreed  to  take  Burns  to  Baltimore,  and  he  intended 
to  keep  his  word  if  it  cost  him  his  Life.  They  then 
attempted  to  move  him  by  intimidation,  but  this 
only  roused  his  spirit.  For  an  hour  and  a  half, 
with  pistol  in  hand,  he  kept  them  at  bay.  At  last, 
he  was  allowed  to  depart  on  giving  assurance  that 
if  the  Massachusetts  purchasers  failed  to  keep  their 
appointment,  he  would  immediately  return  and  dis 
pose  of  Burns  at  Norfolk. 

Without  further  molestation  they  pursued  their 
way  to  Baltimore,  and  arrived  at  Barnum's  Hotel 
about  two  hours  after  Mr.  Grimes.  The  latter 
was  absent  at  the  moment,  but,  returning  shortly 
after,  was  immediately  ushered  into  the  private 
apartment  where  the  two  travellers  were  secluded. 
Anthony  greeted  him  with  a  face  all  radiant  with 


THE  RANSOMED  FKEEDMAN.        213 

happiness,  and  then,  turning  to  his  owner,  ex 
claimed,  "  I  told  you  it  must  be  Mr.  Grimes."  In 
explanation  of  this,  McDaniel  said  that  Burns 
had  constantly  maintained,  notwithstanding  the 
correspondence  had  been  conducted  by  Mr.  Stock- 
well,  that  Mr.  Grimes  would  be  found  at  the 
bottom  of  the  efforts  for  his  Liberation. 

Negotiations  were  at  once  commenced.  Mr. 
Grimes  produced  his  cheque  on  the  Baltimore 
bank,  but  the  cautious  slave  trader  required  the 
cash.  Accordingly,  Mr.  Grimes  went  to  the  bank 
to  get  the  cheque  cashed,  but  found  to  his  annoy 
ance  that,  by  a  rule  of  the  institution,  some  citizen 
of  Baltimore  was  required  to  certify  that  he  was 
the  person  named  in  the  cheque.  He  was  un 
known  to  a  single  individual  in  the  city.  From 
this  dilemma  he  was  relieved  by  the  kindly  aid  of 
the  landlord,  Barnum.  The  cheque  was  indorsed 
to  McDaniel,  Barnum  made  the  necessary  cer 
tification  in  his  behalf,  and  the  cash  was  obtained. 
Before  signing  the  bill  of  sale,  the  thrifty  slave 
trader  required  an  additional  sum  of  twenty-five 
dollars  to  defray  his  expenses.  Remonstrance  was 
unavailing,  and  it  was  paid.  The  transaction  being 
completed,  Mr.  Grimes  pleaded  with  McDaniel  to 
make  Anthony  a  present  of  a  hundred  dollars  with 
which  to  begin  his  new  life ;  but  the  plea  was  met 
by  the  reply  that  twice  that  amount  had  already 
been  sacrificed  in  keeping  the  engagement. 

By  this  time  a  rumor  of  Burns's  presence  had  got 
into  circulation,  and  some  feeling  began  to  be  dis- 


214  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

played  among  the  people  in  the  hotel.  Mr.  Grimes, 
in  consequence,  decided  at  once  to  leave  the  city. 
As  he  and  Burns  passed  out  of  the  hotel,  they 
met,  upon  the  threshhold,  Mr.  Stockwell,  who  had 
that  moment  arrived.  Finding  the  business  com 
pleted,  he  turned  and  accompanied  them  back  to 
the  railway  station.  There  they  encountered 
another  of  the  thousand  safeguards  erected  by 
slavery,  for  its  protection,  at  the  expense  of  per 
petual  vexation  to  freemen.  This  was  a  regulation 
of  the  railroad  company  requiring  a  bond  of  one 
thousand  dollars  to  hold  the  company  harmless  for 
carrying  negroes.  Through  the  friendly  offices  pf 
Mr.  Barnum,  who  signed  the  instrument,  this  ob 
stacle  was  surmounted ;  the  train  then  whirled  off, 
the  land  of  bondage  was  forever  left  behind,  and 
that  night  Anthony  Burns  slept  in  Philadelphia,  a 
free  man  upon  free  soil. 

From  this  period  he  entered  upon  his  career  as 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  equal  in  the  eye  of 
the  law  to  his  former  owners,  and  entitled  to  all 
the  immunities  and  privileges  which  they  could 
claim.  But,  though  invested  with  this  high  title,  it 
was  practically  of  little  or  no  avail  to  him  through 
out  one  half  of  the  Union.  It  was  true  that  the 
Constitution  more  unequivocally  guarantied  his  pro 
tection  as  a  freeman  than  his  restoration  as  a  slave ; 
but  all  experience  had  shown  it  to  be  also  true  that 
this  guaranty  was  for  him,  and  such  as  him,  worth 
absolutely  nothing.  With  a  solemn  constitutional 
pledge  that  he  should  be  protected  in  the  enjoy- 


THE  RANSOMED  FREEDMAN.         215 

ment  of  all  rights  of  citizenship  while  sojourning 
anywhere  within  the  domain  of  the  Union,  he  yet 
could  not  venture  to  set  foot  again  upon  the  soil  of 
his  native  state.  Henceforth  the  only  home  for 
him  was  in  the  North. 

On  the  day  following  his  manumission  he  pro 
ceeded  to  New  York,  and,  in  a  public  assembly 
which  was  gathered  to  welcome  him,  narrated  his 
story.  Early  in  March  he  repaired  to  Boston, 
where  preparations  had  been  made  to  give  him 
a  public  reception  and  congratulate  him  on  the 
recovery  of  his  freedom.  A  large  meeting  was 
held  in  Tremont  Temple,  and  there,  surrounded  by 
many  clergymen,  and  others  of  note,  Burns  stood 
forth  upon  the  platform  and  repeated  his  tale  of 
outrage  and  suffering.  His  manly  address,  the 
sobriety  of  his  speech,  and  the  degree  of  intel 
ligence  which  he  manifested,  took  his  audience  by 
surprise  and  won  for  him  increased  respect.  "  Burns 
is  more  of  a  man  than  I  had  supposed,"  said  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Kirk  in  his  address  on  the  occasion; 
"  he  has  spoken  to  my  heart  to-night  like  a  man. 
He  has  the  true  oratorical  ring  in  him,  like  that  of 
some  of  the  Indian  orators." 

This  meeting  was  followed  by  others  of  a  like 
character  in  various  parts  of  the  Commonwealth. 
The  people  were  eager  to  see  the  man  whose  en 
forced  return  to  slavery  had  so  convulsed  the  State. 
Nor  did  they  fail  to  accompany  the  gratification  of 
their  curiosity  with  substantial  tokens  of  their 
sympathy.  It  was  far  from  Anthony's  wish  or  in- 


216  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

tention,  however,  to  gain  a  livelihood  by  making 
merchandize  of  his  wrongs.1  The  calling  to  which 
he  had  devoted  himself  while  a  slave,  he  was  more 
than  ever  bent  on  pursuing  now  that  he  had  be 
come  a  freeman.  He  still  felt  it  to  be  his  duty 
and  desire  to  preach  the  gospel.  This  decision  re 
ceived  the  approval  of  his  friends,  and  they  took 
measures  to  promote  his  design.  To  qualify  him 
for  the  sacred  office,  it  was  necessary  that  he 
should  pass  through  a  complete  course  of  study. 
A  lady  of  Boston,  who  held  a  scholarship  in  the 
Institution  at  Oberlin,  offered  to  place  him  on  that 
foundation.  This  offer  was  gratefully  accepted, 
and  early  in  the  summer  of  1855,  he  entered  upon 
his  studies  in  that  Institution. 

Soon  after  taking  up  his  residence  at  Oberlin,  he 
addressed  a  note  to  his  old  pastor  in  Virginia,  re 
questing  a  letter  of  dismission  and  general  recom 
mendation  from  the  church  of  which  he  had  been 
a  member  while  in  bondage.  To  this  request  no 
direct  answer  was  ever  returned.  But  it  served, 
apparently,  to  remind  pastor  and  church  of  the 
great  neglect  of  duty  toward  the  institution  of 
slavery  of  which  they  had  been  guilty ;  and  they 
proceeded  to  repair  that  neglect  by  excommunicat 
ing  Burns,  for  "disobeying  both  the  laws  of  God 

1  Immediately  after  Burns  recovered  his  freedom,  the  great  show 
man,  Barnum,  addressed  a  letter  to  one  of  his  friends  offering  him 
$500  if  he  would  take  his  stand  in  the  Museum  at  New  York,  and 
repeat  his  story  to  visitors  for  five  weeks.  When  Burns  was  made 
to  comprehend  the  nature  of  this  proposal,  he  rejected  it  with  indig 
nation.  "  He  wants  to  show  me  like  a  monkey  !  "  said  Burns. 


THE  RANSOMED  FREEDMAN.         217 

and  man  by  absconding  from  the  service  ot  his 
master  and  refusing  to  return  voluntarily."  Four 
months  after,  he  received  a  copy  of  a  newspaper 
containing  a  communication  signed  by  the  pastor 
and  addressed  to  himself.  It  included  the  sentence 
of  excommunication,  and  a  defence  of  slavery 
drawn  from  the  New  Testament  by  the  pastor, 
together  with  a  rebuke  of  all  Christian  anti-slavery 
men.  To  this  communication  Burns  published  an 
answer,  which  showed  not  only  his  ability  to  cope 
with  the  Virginia  pastor  in  argument,  but  also  his 
progress  in  a  sound  interpretation  of  the  Bible.1 

Thus  by  the  hand  of  unchristian  rudenesss  was 
severed  the  last  tie  that  connected  Anthony  Burns 
with  the  land  of  bondage. 

1  See  Appendix  K. 
19 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE   TRIAL   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER. 

WHILE  Burns  was  rehearsing  the  story  of  his 
great  wrong  in  the  cities  and  villages  of  Massa 
chusetts,  the  Commissioner,  by  whose  act  he  had 
suffered,  was  himself  put  on  trial  at  the  bar  of  the 
People.  The  part  which  he  had  played  in  the 
tragedy  of  June  had  drawn  upon  himself  the  hos 
tile  attention  of  large  masses  of  his  fellow-citizens, 
while  the  tragedy  itself  had  precipitated  a  political 
revolution  of  which  he  was  destined  to  be  a  con 
spicuous  victim.  A  glance  at  the  posture  of  affairs 
in  the  Commonwealth,  during  the  period  immedi 
ately  preceding  that  event,  will  reveal  more  fully 
the  causes  of  that  revolution. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1853,  the  whigs 
of  Massachusetts  recovered  the  control  of  the 
government  which  they  had  held  for  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  but  of  which,  for  the  two 
years  previous,  they  had  been  deprived.  Their 
new  hold  of  power  was,  however,  by  no  means 
secure.  Their  opponents,  powerful  in  numbers 
and  personal  influence,  regarded  their  success  as 
an  accident,  and  confidently  looked  forward  to  a 
speedy  reversal  of  the  popular  decision.  A  Con- 

(218) 


THE  TRIAL   OF  THE   COMMISSIONER.  219 

vention  for  revising  the  Constitution  had  been 
ordered ;  and,  at  the  elections  in  the  spring,  the 
Opposition  secured  a  large  majority  of  its  mem 
bers.  The  summer  saw  the  Convention  in  full 
operation,  and  the  majority,  exulting  in  their 
strength,  proceeded  to  make  the  most  radical 
changes  in  the  Constitution.  In  the  autumn,  they 
appealed  to  the  people  for  a  ratification  of  their 
work.  It  was  decisively  refused.  The  blow  was 
doubly  fatal,  for  it  crushed  not  only  the  new  Con 
stitution,  but  also  the  party  which  had  devised  it. 
Again  the  whigs  returned  to  power,  and  with 
vastly  augmented  strength.  A  wise  improvement 
of  past  experience  was  all  which  they  now  needed 
to  secure  them  firmly  in  their  ancient  seats.  They 
had  lost  power  in  the  first  instance  by  crossing 
the  anti-slavery  sentiments  of  the  people;  they 
were  sure  to  retain  and  increase  it  by  reforming 
their  policy  on  that  subject.  An  opportunity  to 
test  their  disposition  was  almost  immediately  pre 
sented  by  the  proposal  to  repeal  the  Missouri 
Compromise.  As  the  party  in  power,  as  the  party 
to  whom  had  been  entrusted  the  privilege  of  utter 
ing  authoritatively  the  voice  of  Massachusetts  in 
such  a  crisis,  it  was  their  duty  to  have  led  off  in 
an  instant,  energetic,  and  indignant  rebuke  of  the 
premeditated  wrong.  But  they  hung  back  until 
their  defeated  foes  led  the  way,  and  then  feebly 
followed  with  cautiously-worded  protests.  That 
was  not  all.  Of  the  two  Massachusetts  members 
of  the  United  States  Senate.  Edward  Everett  and 


220  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

Charles  Sumner,  the  former  was  a  representative 
of  the  whig  party,  and  the  latter  a  representative 
of  their  opponents.  Most  unfortunate  for  the  whig 
party  was  the  contrast  presented  by  the  conduct 
of  the  two  in  the  strife  about  the  Missouri  Com 
promise.  While  Mr.  Sumner  extorted  admiration, 
even  from  his  opponents,  as  the  gallant  and  coura 
geous  champion  of  Massachusetts,  the  whig  Sena 
tor  compelled  his  friends  to  hang  their  heads  in 
shame  by  tamely  apologizing  for  having  presented 
to  the  Senate  the  noblest  remonstrance  ever  made 
in  behalf  of  the  imperilled  cause  of  human  free 
dom.1  Having  begun  by  thus  damaging  the  anti- 
slavery  character  of  his  party,  he  finished  by 
resigning  his  place  at  a  moment  when  the  Legis 
lature  had  put  it  out  of  their  power,  by  a  final 
adjournment,  to  provide  a  permanent  successor. 
The  prize  of  the  vacant  senatorship  at  once  became 
a  powerful  incentive  to  revolution.  It  stimulated 
alike  the  aspiring  and  the  patriotic  among  the  Op 
position  to  indefatigable  efforts  to  replace  the 
retiring,  not  to  say  retreating,  Senator  with  one 
who  would  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  the 
remaining  Senator.  Then  followed  that  embattled 
assault  by  the  Federal  Government  in  behalf  of 
Virginia  slavery,  upon  the  peace,  and  dignity,  and 
cherished  faith  of  Massachusetts,  the  like  of  which 
had  not  been  witnessed  within  her  borders  since 
the  Boston  Massacre  of  1770.  Again  was  a  great 

1  Remonstrance  of  three  thousand  ministers  of  New  England 
against  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise. 


THE  TRIAL   OF  THE   COMMISSIONER.  221 

opportunity  presented  to  the  whig  party.  The  in 
sulted  Commonwealth  demanded  a  demonstration 
against  the  unpardonable  outrage,  and  a  fit  demon 
stration  could  only  come  from  the  party  in  power. 
They  were  the  State;  in  their  keeping  was  its 
honor ;  they  only  could  utter  its  voice  with  author 
ity.  But  they  did  nothing ;  —  and  again  they  die' 
nothing.  Then,  and  from  that  hour,  the  whig 
party  rushed  swiftly  downward  to  its  ruin.  A 
movement  in  another  direction  concurred  to  hasten 
the  catastrophe.  Some  months  before,  a  secret 
political  association  had  been  organized  in  the 
State.  Its  growth  had  been  small,  and,  down  to 
the  period  of  Burns's  arrest,  it  continued  small.  But 
its  organization  was  thorough,  and  its  machinery 
the  most  controlling  and  effective  ever  devised.  It 
invited  recruits,  and,  to  all  political  wanderers  and 
malcontents,  held  out  the  alluring  prospect  of  a 
new  home  and  new  means  of  power.  And  now, 
on  the  one  hand,  the  discomfited  and  scattered  mem 
bers  of  the  Opposition,  and  on  the  other,  the  discon 
tented  portion  of  the  party  in  power,  together  plunged 
headlong  into  the  recesses  of  this  invisible  party. 
All  through  the  summer  and  early  autumn  the 
exodus  from  the  old  parties  went  steadily  on ;  as  the 
day  of  election  approached,  it  went  on  with  accel 
erated  velocity.  At  length,  the  thirteenth  of  No 
vember  revealed  to  the  world  the  astounding  result. 
The  whig  party  had  vanished  away.  Of  the  sixty 
thousand  that  had  borne  it  into  power  the  year 
"Before,  but  tweniy-gfven  thousand  remained.  In 


222  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

its  place  had  come  up,  eighty  thousand  strong,  a 
party  which  at  the  previous  election  had  no  exist 
ence.  City  and  country  had  alike  yielded  to  their 
power.  The  great  metropolitan  stronghold  had 
been  stormed,  and  the  remotest  village,  whether  of 
Berkshire  or  Cape  Cod,  had  been  penetrated  and 
revolutionized.  Everything  was  theirs.  Theirs 
was  the  Governor,  for  the  first  time  in  a  decade  of 
years  by  the  popular  vote ;  theirs  was  the  entire 
Senate ;  theirs,  with  three  or  four  exceptions,  was 
the  multitudinous  House  of  Representatives.  The 
revolution  was  complete  and  universal. 

The  party  thus  puissantly  inaugurated,  now 
turned  their  attention  to  the  outrage  which  had 
so  signally  contributed  to  their  success.  Repre 
senting  the  State  by  a  more  indisputable  title 
than  any  party  which  had  ever  before  been  en 
trusted  with  power,  they  proceeded  to  pronounce 
the  judgment  of  the  State  upon  that  transaction. 
Two  methods  of  procedure  were  possible.  They 
might  enact  a  general  law,  or  they  might  deal  with 
the  particular  actors  in  the  tragedy,  if  any  were 
found  to  be  properly  within  their  purview.  Both 
methods  were  adopted,  but  with  the  latter  only  is 
this  history  concerned. 

Of  the  obnoxious  actors  in  the  tragedy  of  Burns, 
no  one  was  within  reach  of  the  power  of  the  State 
but  the  Commissioner,  Edward  Greeley  Loring. 
This  person  was  one  of  that  class  of  men  who 
never,  except  by  accident,  appear  on  the  page  of 
history.  A  lawyer  of  moderate  abilities,  he  had 


THE   TRIAL   OP  THE   COMMISSIONER.  223 

passed  the  middle  period  of  life  without  having 
made  any  figure  at  the  bar,  and  was  content  to 
solicit  from  his  professional  brethren  that  class  of 
business  technically  called  office-practice.  Unam 
bitious  and  reserved,  he  had  never  mingled  with 
the  people  nor  courted  their  favor  in  the  political 
arena ;  and,  until  his  obnoxious  conduct  elevated 
him  into  notice,  he  was  probably  unknown  to  the 
greater  part  of  his  fellow-citizens.  But  he  had 
powerful  friends,  through  whose  influence,  direct 
or  indirect,  his  fortunes  were  essentially  advanced. 
Among  them  was  that  family  already  mentioned 
in  this  history  as  distinguished  for  its  devotion  to 
the  fugitive  slave  law,  one  of  whose  members  then 
occupied  a  seat  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States.  Connected  with  this 
family  by  the  ties  of  blood,  Mr.  Loring  was  in  a 
position,  on  the  one  hand,  to  claim  the  benefit  of 
their  influence  for  himself,  and  on  the  other,  to  be 
infected  by  their  peculiar  views  on  the  subject  of 
fugitive  slaves.  But  however  this  may  be,  he 
succeeded  in  gaining  places  of  public  trust  and 
emolument.  In  1839,  he  was  appointed  a  Commis 
sioner  of  the  United  States  for  taking  bail  and 
affidavits,  to  which  duty  was  added,  by  the  statute 
of  1850,  that  of  sending  back  fugitives  into  slavery. 
In  1847,  he  was  appointed  Judge  of  Probate  for 
the  county  of  Suffolk.  This  office  he  exercised 
to  the  general  satisfaction  of  the  county.  In  1854, 
he  was  chosen  by  the  Corporation  of  Harvard  Col 
lege,  a  Lecturer  in  the  Law  School  of  that  institu- 


224  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

tion ;  but,  though  he  at  once  entered  on  the  dis 
charge  of  his  duties,  the  choice  awaited  the  sanction 
of  the  Overseers.  All  of  these  places  he  held  at 
the  time  of  the  rendition  of  Burns,  and  onward. 
With  the  office  in  which  he  had  offended,  the 
state  authorities  had  no  power  to  interfere,  and  in 
those  over  which  they  had  control,  he  had  done 
nothing  amiss.  Notwithstanding,  it  was  resolved 
to  manifest  their  sense  of  his  offensive  conduct  in 
the  former,  by  depriving  him  of  the  latter. 

The  willing  disposition  of  the  Legislature  to 
proceed  against  Mr.  Loring  was  sustained  and 
stimulated  by  the  action  of  the  people.  Hardly 
had  the  two  Houses  been  organized,  when  from  all 
quarters  petitions  for  his  removal  from  the  office 
of  Judge  of  Probate  began  to  pour  in.  Every 
day  witnessed  fresh  accessions  to  the  number,  and 
in  no  long  time  it  had  swelled  to  more  than  twelve 
thousand.  On  the  other  hand,  but  more  tardily, 
remonstrances  against  the  removal  were  presented. 
The  whole  number  of  these  was  less  than  fifteen 
hundred.  Between  remonstrants  and  petitioners 
there  was  a  marked  contrast.  All  of  the  former 
were  men,  and  generally  were  men  belonging  to 
the  circle  in  which  Mr.  Loring  more  immediately 
moved.  But  the  petitioners  were  from  among  the 
broad  mass  of  the  people ;  and  many  of  them 
were  women,  who,  as  being  a  class  of  persons 
deeply  interested  in  the  character  of  Probate 
Judges,  very  properly  exercised  their  right  of  peti 
tion  on  this  occasion. 


THE  TRIAL   OF  THE   COMMISSIONER.  225 

Roused  by  the  signs  of  impending  danger,  Mr. 
Loring  at  last  himself  presented  to  the  Legislature 
a  remonstrance  against  his  removal.  This  paper 
was  clumsily  constructed  and  its  argument  was 
obscurely  set  forth.  Reduced  to  a  logical  form  it 
seemed  to  be  this :  That  Mr.  Loring  ought  not  to 
be  removed  from  the  office  of  Judge  of  Probate ; 
first,  because  his  action  in  the  case  of  Burns  had 
been  only  that  of  a  good  citizen  and  a  sworn  mag 
istrate  both  of  Massachusetts  and  of  the  United 
States ;  second,  because  that  action  was  not  in 
compatible  with  his  duty  as  a  Judge  of  Probate. 
The  fugitive  slave  law  had  found  him  holding  the 
office  of  a  Commissioner,  and  had  imposed  upon 
him  the  additional  duty  of  sending  back  fugitive 
slaves.  That  law  was  an  amelioration  of  the  old 
law  of  1793.  It  had  been  pronounced  by  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  Massachusetts  to  be  constitutional ; 
and  he  had  been  required  by  the  people  of  Massa 
chusetts  to  swear  as  Judge  of  Probate  to  support 
all  constitutional  laws.  Thus,  although  he  had 
sent  Anthony  Burns  back  into  slavery,  he  had 
done  it  humanely,  constitutionally,  and  in  obedi 
ence  to  his  oath.  Nor  was  the  act  inconsistent 
with  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  Probate  func 
tions.  The  office  of  United  States  Commissioner 
had  been  held  by  state  magistrates,  and,  therefore, 
might  be  held  by  a  Judge  of  Probate.  He  had  re 
ceived  the  appointment  of  a  Probate  Judge  while 
holding  the  office  of  Commissioner,  and  no  objec 
tion  had  been  made  from  any  authoritative  quar- 


226  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

ter  against  his  continuing  to  discharge  all  its 
duties.  Nor,  when  by  the  act  of  1850,  the  duty 
of  returning  fugitives  to  slavery  had  been  added  to 
his  other  duties  as  Commissioner,  had  he  received 
any  notice  from  the  state  authorities  that  the  two 
offices  were  thereby  rendered  incompatible.  Long 
custom,  and  expressive  silence  twice  repeated,  thus 
sanctioned  the  position  that  a  Judge  of  Probate 
might  properly  act  as  a  United  States  Commissioner, 
and,  so  acting,  might  without  blame  send  back  a 
fugitive  into  slavery. 

The  conclusion  of  the  remonstrance  was  in  no 
suppliant  tone.  "  I  claim  as  facts,"  said  the 
remonstrant, "  that  the  extradition  of  fugitives  from 
service  or  labor  is  within  the  provisions  of  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States ;  that  the  U.  S.  act 
of  1850  was  and  is  the  law  of  the  land ;  and,  by 
the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  of  this  commonwealth, 
obligatory  on  all  its  magistrates  and  people ;  that 
action  under  the  said  act  was  lawful  and  not  pro 
hibited  by  any  State  law  to  the  judicial  officers  of 
the  State,  and  was  in  conformity  with  the  official 
oath  of  all  officers  of  the  State  to  support  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States.  And  I  respectfully 
submit  to  your  honorable  bodies,  that  when  your 
petitioners  ask  you  to  punish  a  judicial  officer  for 
an  act  not  prohibited  by  any  statute  of  Massachu 
setts,  but  lawful  under  those  statutes,  and  imposed 
by  that  law  of  the  land  which  is  the  law  of  Mas 
sachusetts,  they  ask  of  you  an  abuse  of  power  for 


THE  TRIAL  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER.  227 

which  the  legislative  history  of  Massachusetts  fur 
nishes  no  precedent." 

The  petitions  and  remonstrances  were  referred 
to  the  Joint  Committee  on  Federal  Relations,  con 
sisting  of  two  Senators  and  five  Representatives. 
Before  this  Committee  had  taken  any  action  a 
heavy  blow  from  another  quarter  fell  upon  the 
Commissioner.  It  has  already  been  stated  that  his 
appointment  as  Lecturer  in  the  Law  School  of 
Harvard  College  awaited  the  sanction  of  the  Board 
of  Overseers.  This  body  was  composed  of  the 
Governor,  the  Lieutenant- Governor,  the  President 
of  the  Senate,  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  the  Sec 
retary  of  the  Board  of  Education,  the  President 
and  Treasurer  of  Harvard  College,  and  thirty 
other  persons  elected  for  a  term  of  years.  Its 
meetings  were  usually  held  only  during  the  session 
of  the  Legislature.  Whatever  action  had  been 
taken  by  the  Corporation  during  the  legislative 
recess  was  then  presented  for  confirmation.  At 
the  first  meeting  this  year,  held  on  the  twenty- 
sixth  of  January,  the  President  of  the  College  laid 
before  the  Board  Mr.  Loring's  appointment.  The 
Board  took  time  to  deliberate.  At  the  end  of 
three  weeks  a  second  meeting  was  held,  when  the 
question  again  came  up.  A  ballot  was  taken,  and 
it  was  found  that  two  thirds  had  voted  against  con 
firming  the  appointment.  Among  those  who  thus 
put  the  seal  of  their  condemnation  on  the  Com 
missioner,  were  the  Governor  and  Lieutenant- Gov 
ernor  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  two  ex-Gov- 


228  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

ernors — a  whig  and  a  democrat — both  of  whom 
had  enjoyed  in  a  rare  degree  the  favor  of  their 
respective  parties.1  No  debate  was  held,  and  no 
reasons  were  assigned  by  the  majority  for  their  ad 
verse  action.  There  was  no  need,  for  no  one 
doubted  that  the  Board  had  taken  this  method  to 
express  their  disapprobation  of  Mr.  Loring's  con 
duct  as  Commissioner.  By  this  stroke  he  was  de 
prived  of  an  honorable  office  and  a  salary  of  fif 
teen  hundred  dollars. 

Four  .days  after,  the  Committee  held  their  first 
meeting  to  consider  the  question  of  his  removal 
from  the  office  of  Judge  of  Probate.  The  grave 
character  of  the  proposed  step  invested  their  pro 
ceedings  with  unwonted  interest.  Only  thrice 
since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  had  a  Mas 
sachusetts  Judge  been  removed  from  office  by  the 
method  of  Address ;  never  had  one  been  removed 
for  such  a  cause.  Ample  powers  had  been  granted 
to  the  Committee.  Witnesses  were  to  be  exam 
ined  and  arguments  to  be  heard  ;  the  proceedings 
assumed  the  breadth  and  importance  of  a  great 
public  trial.  To  accommodate  the  people,  the 
committee-room  was  abandoned,  and  the  sessions 
were  held  in  the  Hall  of  the  Representatives. 
Long  before  the  appointed  hour,  the  spacious 
apartment  was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity ;  crowds 
besieged  the  doors  outside,  and  hundreds  more, 
unable  to  get  within  ear-shot,  reluctantly  went 
away.  This  extraordinary  exhibition  of  popular 

1  Governor  Briggs  and  Governor  Boutwell. 


THE  TRIAL   OF  THE   COMMISSIONER.  229 

interest  was  repeated  at  the  second  hearing,  a  week 
later,  and  was  not  diminished  when,  on  the  sixth 
of  March,  the  final  hearing  was  had. 

Testimony  was  taken  respecting  the  Commis 
sioner's  conduct,  both  in  and  out  of  the  court-room, 
during  the  trial  of  Burns.  But  the  time  was 
chiefly  consumed  by  arguments  from  various  per 
sons  in  favor  of  the  removal.  Among  these,  the 
most  distinguished  were  Wendell  Phillips,  Theo 
dore  Parker,  and  the  historian,  Richard  Hildreth. 
They  spoke  for  the  twelve  thousand  petitioners, 
and  for  the  vast  multitude  beside,  whom  those  pe 
titioners  represented.  Much  of  what  was  in  the 
public  mind,  much  of  what  had  appeared  in  the 
public  journals,  was  now  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
Committee  with  all  the  force  which  rare  eloquence 
and  keen  dialectic  skill  could  exert. 

The  reasons  urged  in  favor  of  the  removal  were 
various,  but  they  were  all  reducible  into  two  classes ; 
those  which  had  respect  to  the  character  and  con 
duct  of  Mr.  Loring,  and  those  which  had  respect 
to  the  character  and  conduct  of  Massachusetts. 
The  Commissioner,  it  was  said,  had  not  conducted 
the  examination  of  Burns  fairly  and  uprightly.  He 
had  pushed  it  on  with  indecent  haste.  He  had 
manifested  a  purpose  to  send  back  the  prisoner 
without  giving  him  a  chance  for  defence.  A  stick 
ler  for  law,  he  yet  had  wrested  the  law  to  the  pre 
judice  of  the  prisoner's  rights.  He  had  received 
the  admissions  of  the  prisoner  so  far  as  they  told 
20 


230  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

against  him,  and  excluded  them  so  far  as  they  told 
in  his  favor.  He  had  suffered  the  worst  part  of 
the  community  to  be  admitted  into  his  court-room, 
and  the  better  part  to  be  debarred  therefrom.  He 
had  refused  to  secure  for  the  prisoner's  counsel  fr^e 
access  to  his  court.  He  had  prejudged  the  prison 
er's  cause.  Before  the  examination  was  fairly 
begun,  he  had  on  two  different  occasions  more  than 
hinted  that  Burns  would  have  to  be  sent  back  to 
Virginia.1  He  had  also,  in  effect,  prejudged  the 
cause  by  preparing  a  bill  of  sale  of  the  prisoner. 
All  these  things  were  so  many  disclosures  of  char 
acter  ;  they  showed  Mr.  Loring's  unfitness  for  the 
office  of  a  Massachusetts  Judge.  He  ought,  there 
fore,  to  be  removed. 

But  there  was  another  view.  Some,  not  stop 
ping  to  inquire  whether  as  Commissioner  he  had 
acted  well  or  ill,  held  it  to  be  the  head  and  front  of 
his  offence  that  he  had  acted  at  all.  He  should  not 
have  sat  in  judgment  on  the  case.  He  should  not 
have  issued  his  warrant.  He  should  have  resigned 
his  place  as  Commissioner  if  he  could  not  other 
wise  have  honorably  retained  it.  Whatever  might 
be  his  private  views,  as  Judge  of  Probate  he  was 
bound  to  keep  himself  free  from  the  contamination 
of  slave-catching.  Moreover,  he  had  violated  the 
spirit  of  the  Constitution,  and  especially  of  the 
Bill  of  Rights.  By  that  charter,  Massachusetts 

1  See  letters  of  Charles  Grafton  and  Edward  Avery  to  the  Com 
mittee  on  Federal  Relations,  printed  in  House  Document,  No.  93. 


THE  TRIAL   OP  THE   COMMISSIONER.  231 

magistrates  were  required  to  "  observe  justice,  piety, 
and  moderation;"  to  countenance  the  principles 
of  humanity  and  benevolence.  But  slave-catching 
was  opposed  to  all  these.  Nor  was  that  all ;  he  had 
violated  an  express  statute  of  the  Commonwealth. 
By  the  law  of  1843,  all  Massachusetts  officers  and 
magistrates  were  forbidden  to  assist  in  the  business 
of  returning  fugitive  slaves,  and  the  terms  of  this 
law  were  held  to  include  Judges  of  Probate. 
Finally,  whatever  view  might  be  taken  of  the  past, 
Mr.  Loring  had  manifested  a  purpose  to  continue 
in  the  business  of  a  slave-catching  Commissioner ; 
he  had  even  insisted  that  it  was  a  solemn  duty 
which  he  could  not  evade.  If,  therefore,  he  were 
longer  suffered  to  retain  his  judicial  office,  Massa 
chusetts  would  proclaim  to  the  world  that  her 
Judges  of  Probate  might  properly,  and  without 
offence,  act  a  chief  part  in  sending  back  into  per 
petual  slavery  persons  as  much  entitled  to  compas 
sion  as  widows  and  orphans. 

These  reasons  were  of  a  punitive  character ; 
they  had  respect  mainly  to  Mr.  Loring.  But  the 
removal  was  placed  upon  higher  and  broader 
ground.  It  was  necessary  to  vindicate  the  character 
and  to  enforce  the  behest  of  the  Commonwealth. 
From  the  earliest  days,  Massachusetts  had  taken 
up  a  position  on  the  subject  of  slavery  in  advance 
of  every  other  nation  in  Christendom.  During 
the  period  of  her  colonial  independence,  she  had 
adopted  the  Mosaic  code  for  her  guide,  and,  while 
not  daring  to  prohibit  what  God  had  permitted, 


232  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

had  yet  reduced  slavery  to  its  minimum  of  evil.1 
During  the  subsequent  period  of  her  provincial 
vassalage  under  royal  governors,  the  power  of  the 
Crown  was  interposed  to  arrest  her  tendencies 
toward  the  entire  abolition  of  the  system,  and 

1 A  small  volume  has  recently  been  presented  to  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society,  entitled,  "Abstract  of  the  Lawes  of  New  England 
as  they  are  now  Established,"  and  printed  in  London  in  1641.  By 
the  code  there  given,  manstealing  was  punished  with  death.  In  the 
same  year  the  following  statute  was  enacted :  "  It  is  ordered  by  this 
Court  and  the  authority  thereof,  That  there  shall  never  be  any  bond 
slavery,  villenege,  or  captivity  amongst  us,  unless  it  be  lawful  cap 
tives  taken  in  just  warrs,  as  willingly  sell  themselves,  or  are  sold  to 
us,  and  such  shall  have  the  liberties  and  Christian  usage  which  the 
law  of  God  established  in  Israel  concerning  such  persons,  doth 
morally  require,  provided  this  exempts  none  from  servitude  who 
shall  be  judged  thereto  by  authority."  [i.  e.  as  a  punishment  for 
crime.]  I  have  traced  this  statute  in  the  edition  of  the  Laws  of 
1660,  and  in  that  of  1672.  There  is  no  doubt  that  it  continued  in 
force  till  the  abrogation  of  the  Charter  in  1684.  Among  the  "  liber 
ties  and  Christian  usage"  secured  by  other  enactments,  were  these: 
A  servant  flying  from  the  tyranny  and  cruelty  of  his  master  to  the 
house  of  a  freeman,  was  to  be  protected  and  sustained  there  till  due 
order  was  taken  for  his  relief.  No  servant  was  to  be  put  off  to 
another  person  for  above  a  year,  neither  in  the  lifetime  of  his  master 
nor  after  his  death,  by  an  executor,  except  by  the  authority  of 
Court,  or  of  two  Assistants.  [An  "  Assistant"  in  those  days  exercised 
the  functions  both  of  a  Senator 'and  of  a  member  of  the  Governor's 
Council.]  A  servant  whose  tooth  was  smitten  out  by  his  master, 
was  to  go  free  from  service  and  have  such  further  recompense  as 
the  Court  should  adjudge.  (Mass.  Laws,  1660.)  There  was  also 
this  important  statute  in  which  the  bondman  is  placed  on  an  equality 
with  the  freeman :  "  Every  man,  whether  inhabitant  or  foreigner, 
free  or  not  free,  shall  have  libcrtie  to  come  into  any  publique  court, 
councel,  or  towne  meeting,  and  either  by  speech  or  writing  to  move 
any  lawful,  seasonable,  or  material  question,  or  to  present  any  neces 
sary  motion,  complaint,  petition,  bill,  or  information,  whereof  that 
meeting  hath  proper  cognizance,  so  it  be  done  in  proper  time,  due 
order,  and  respective  manner." 


THE  TRIAL   OF  THE   COMMISSIONER.  233 

she  was  compelled  to  endure  what  she  was  unable 
to  remedy.1     But  from  the  hour  when  she  recovered 

1  There  is  abundant  evidence  that  the  people  of  Massachusetts 
were,  during  the  provincial  period,  opposed  to  slavery,  and  would 
fain  have  got  rid  of  it,  but  were  prevented  by  their  governors.  In 
1701,  only  nine  years  after  the  colony  was  transformed  into  a  royal 
province,  the  representatives  of  Boston  were  requested  by  that  town 
to  take  measures  to  put  a  stop  to  negro  slavery.  The  preamble  of 
an  act  passed  in  1703,  declares  that  "great  charge  and  incon 
veniences  have  arisen  to  divers  towns  and  places  by  the  releasing 
and  setting  at  liberty  mulatto  and  negro  slaves."  In  1705,  heavy 
duties  were  imposed  by  the  General  Court  on  imported  slaves,  with 
a  view  to  discourage  the  business.  In  1712,  was  passed  "an  act  to 
prohibit  the  importation  or  bringing  into  this  Province  [Massa 
chusetts]  any  Indian  servants  or  slaves ; "  and  one  of  the  reasons 
assigned  for  the  measure  is,  that  such  importation  "is  a  discourage 
ment  to  the  importation  of  white  Christian  servants."  About  the 
year  1716,  Samuel  Sewall,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Province,  published 
a  pamphlet  in  condemnation  of  slavery.  ^767,  an  attempt  was 
made  to  pass  a  law  "to  prevent  the  unnatural  and  unwarrantable 
custom  of  enslaving  mankind  and  the  importation  of  slaves  into 
the  province."  In  1769  one  James,  a  negro,  brought  a  suit  in  the 
county  of  Suffolk,  against  one  Lechmere,  to  recover  his  freedom, 
and  was  successful.  Other  suits  were  brought  in  other  counties,  and 
they  were  uniformly  decided  in  favor  of  the  slaves.  The  ground  of 
these  decisions  was  said  to  be,  that  all  persons  in  the  Province  were 
by  the  charter  as  free  as  the  king's  subjects  in  England,  and  there 
slavery  was  not  recognized  by  law.  In  1774,  a  bill  to  prevent  the 
importation  of  slaves  passed  the  two  Houses,  but  Gov.  Hutchinson 
refused  to  sign  it  because  his  instructions  from  the  king  forbade.  Gov. 
Gage  refused  his  signature  to  a  similar  bill  for  the  same  reason. 
In  1777,  during  the  revolutionary  war,  a  prize  ship  with  a  cargo  of 
slaves  was  brought  into  Salem,  and  the  slaves  were  advertised  to  be 
sold ;  but  the  Legislature  then  sitting  in  that  town  interposed,  pre 
vented  the  sale,  and  ordered  the  slaves  to  be  set  at  liberty.  For 
most  of  these  facts,  see  a  learned  and  instructive  article  on  slavery, 
in  the  41st  volume  of  the  North  American  Review,  from  the  pen  of 
the  Hon.  Emory  Washburn,  late  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth. 

20* 


234  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

her    ancient    independence,   slavery  was    forever 
banished  from  her  domain.1     Becoming  a  member 

1  Slavery  was  abolished  in  Massachusetts  by  virtue  of  the  clause 
in  her  Constitution  which  declares  that  "  all  men  are  born  free  and 
equal."  The  great  honor  of  having  made  that  clause  a  part  of  the 
Constitution  belongs  to  JOHN  LOWELL.  This  distinguished  man 
was  born  at  Newburyport  in  1 743,  and  was  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1760.  He  commenced  the  practice  of  the  law  in  his  na 
tive  town,  but  in  1776  removed  to  Boston.  He  soon  after  became  a 
representative  in  the  General  Court,  and  also  a  member  of  the  Con 
vention  which  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  State.  In  1781  he 
was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress.  In  1782  he 
was  appointed  Judge  of  the  Admiralty  Court  of  Appeals.  On  the 
establishment  of  the  Federal  Government  in  1789,  he  was  appointed 
by  Washington,  District  Judge  of  the  United  States  for  Massachu 
setts.  This  office  he  held  till  1801,  when,  upon  a  reorganization  of 
the  courts,  he  was  made  Chief  Justice  of  the  new  Circuit  Court  for 
the  eastern  district.  His  death  took  place  in  1802.  "He  was," 
says  Gushing  in  his  history  of  Newburyport,  "  eminent  for  his  judg 
ment,  integrity,  and  eloquence  as  an  advocate  and  legislator ;  for 
his  impartiality,  acuteness,  and  decision  as  a  judge ;  and  for  his  zeal 
in  the  cause  of  scientific  and  other  useful  institutions." 

Mr.  Lowell  was  the  bosom  friend  of  the  elder  Adams,  with  whom 
he  was  associated  on  the  sub-committee  for  drafting  the  plan  of  the 
Constitution.  Respecting  his  agency  in  procuring  the  adoption  of 
the  clause  which  abolished  slavery  in  Massachusetts,  I  am  happy  in 
being  able  to  present  the  testimony  of  his  son,  now  venerable  for 
years  and  virtues,  the  Rev.  Charles  Lowell,  D.  D.,  of  Cambridge. 
In  a  recent  note  addressed  to  me,  he  says  :  "  My  father  introduced 
into  the  Bill  of  Rights  the  clause  by  which  slavery  was  abolished  in 
Massachusetts.  You  will  find,  by  referring  to  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Convention  for  framing  the  Constitution  of  our  State,  and  to 
Elliot's  N.  E.  Biographical  Dictionary,  that  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Convention  and  of  the  Committee  for  drafting  the  plan,  &c., 
and  that  he  suggested  and  urged  on  the  Committee  the  introduction 
of  the  clause,  taken  from  the  Declaration  of  Independence  a  little 
varied,  which  virtually  put  an  end  to  slavery  here,  as  our  courts  de 
cided,  as  the  one  from  which  it  was  taken  ought  to  have  put  an  end 


THE   TRIAL    OF   THE   COMMISSIONER.  23o 

of  the  Federal  Union,  she  also  became  subject  to 
the  fugitive  slave  law  of  1793.  But  she  never 
ceased  to  detest  it,  and  when,  exactly  half  a  century 
after,  a  fit  occasion  was  furnished  by  a  decision 
of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  she  hastened 
to  place  upon  her  statute-book  an  act  expressive 
of  her  detestation  and  of  her  ancient  and  unalter 
able  convictions.  In  this  attitude  the  fugitive 
slave  law  of  1850  met  and  confronted  her.  It 
soon  became  manifest  that  as  the  new  law  was  far 
more  stringent  and  oppressive  than  the  old,  so  it 
was  to  be  enforced  with  far  greater  activity.  Al 
most  immediately  after  its  enactment,  a  negro  was 
arrested,  under  its  provisions,  within  the  borders  of 
Massachusetts.  Fortunately  for  himself  and  for 
the  peace  of  the  Commonwealth,  he  escaped  from 
custody  before  the  law  had  taken  its  course.  Soon, 
another  was  arrested  and  sent  back  into  bondage 
at  the  South,  there,  as  it  turned  out,  to  suffer  im 
prisonment,  scourging,  and  death.  In  no  long  time 
after,  occurred  the  arrest  and  extradition  of  Anthony 
Burns.  It  seemed  that  the  soil  of  Massachusetts 
was  about  to  become  a  permanent  hunting-ground 

to  slavery  in  the  United  States.     This  he  repeatedly  and  fully  stated 
to  his  family  and  friends.     ....     .     .     .     In  regard  to  the 

clause  in  the  Bill  of  Rights,  my  father  advocated  its  adoption 
in  the  Convention,  and,  when  it  was  adopted,  exclaimed :  'Now 
there  is  no  longer  slavery  in  Massachusetts ;  it  is  abolished,  and 
I  icill  render  my  services  as  a  lawyer  gratis  to  any  slave  sueing  for  his 
freedom,  if  it  is  withheld  from  him,'  or  words  to  that  effect."  Mr. 
Lowell's  view  of  the  effect  which  the  clause  would  have,  was  speedily 
confirmed  by  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court.  See  Appendix  L. 


236  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

for  Southern  slave-catchers.  What  was  she  to  do  ? 
She  could  not  follow  the  example  of  South  Caro 
lina  ;  she  could  not  nullify  a  law  of  Congress ; 
she  could  not  arm  her  citizens  and  bid  them  resist 
by  force  the  execution  of  the  law.  Nor  did  she 
need  so  to  do ;  for  she  held  in  reserve  a  great  con 
stitutional  resource.  By  the  terms  of  the  Federal 
Constitution,  she  had  reserved  to  herself  all  the 
rights  and  attributes  of  sovereignty  not  expressly 
granted  to  the  Federal  Government.  She  had 
thus  reserved  to  herself,  as  an  individual  in  the 
family  of  States,  the  right  of  private  judgment  upon 
the  constitutionality  of  federal  laws.  She  had  re 
served  the  right  of  influencing  her  citizens,  within 
the  sphere  of  voluntary  action,  against  assisting  to 
execute  an  obnoxious  law.  She  had  reserved  the 
right  to  say  upon  what  conditions  her  citizens 
should  enjoy  the  honors  and  emoluments  of  offices 
within  her  own  gift,  upon  what  conditions  these 
should  be  forfeited.  And  if  she  chose  to  make 
the  voluntary  aiding  to  execute  the  fugitive  slave 
law  one  of  those  conditions,  such  was  her  sovereign 
right.  Nor  was  it  more  a  sovereign,  a  constitu 
tional,  than  it  was  a  moral  right.  The  citizen  of 
Massachusetts,  though  he  owed  allegiance  to  the 
United  States,  owed  a  higher  allegiance  to  his  own 
State.  For  it  was  she,  and  not  the  former,  that 
chiefly  provided  for  his  welfare.  At  her  hand  he 
obtained  his  elective  franchise,  his  schools,  his 
roads,  his  police.  He  touched  the  State  at  almost 
all  points,  the  Federal  Government  at  scarcely 


THE  TRIAL   OF  THE   COMMISSIONER.  237 

more  than  one.  If,  therefore,  a  conflict  of  views 
arose  between  the  two,  the  State  rightfully  claimed 
that  her  sentiments  should  be  respected,  rather  than 
those  of  the  more  distant,  less  protective  Power. 

The  conduct  of  Mr.  Loring  furnished  an  occa 
sion  for  the  practical  illustration  of  this  doctrine. 
Massachusetts  had  passed  resolves  expressive  of 
her  disapprobation  of  the  fugitive  slave  law.  She 
had  passed  an  act  to  discountenance  its  execution 
within  her  territory.  But  neither  acts  nor  resolves 
had  proved  sufficient.  An  example  was  needed  to 
enforce  the  precept.  The  removal  of  Mr.  Loring 
would  teach  her  citizens  more  impressively  than  a 
whole  statute-book  of  resolves,  that,  if  they  desired 
to  enjoy  her  favor,  they  must  conform  to  her  views 
respecting  the  execution  of  the  fugitive  slave  law. 

The  Commissioner  was  formally  notified  to 
appear  before  the  Committee,  if  he  chose,  and 
make  answer  to  what  might  be  said  against  him. 
In  a  brief  note  he  declined  the  privilege,  and  con 
tented  himself  with  referring  the  Committee  to  his 
remonstance  as  containing  all  that  he  had  to  say. 
An  unexpected  champion,  however,  volunteered  to 
maintain  his  cause.  At  the  third  and  last  hearing, 
Richard  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  presented  himself  before  the 
Committee,  and  asked  to  be  heard  in  behalf  of 
the  remonstrants.  No  man  in  the  whole  Com 
monwealth  occupied  at  that  moment  so  command 
ing  a  position  for  influencing  the  Committee,  the 
Legislature,  and  the  public  in  favor  of  the  Com 
missioner.  As  the  defender  of  Burns,  he  had  won 


238  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

the  applause  and  gratitude  of  those  who  were  now 
pursuing  the  Commissioner.  He  had  been  in  the 
best  position  to  witness  the  Commissioner's  de 
meanor  during  the  examination.  He  was  a  most 
competent  judge  of  his  official  conduct,  and  was 
not  likely  to  judge  it  more  favorably  than  facts 
would  warrant.  He  had  freely  condemned  the 
Commissioner's  decision ;  and  he  protested  that  he 
now  appeared  before  the  Committee,  not  for  Mr. 
Loring's  sake,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  principle 
involved. 

That  principle  was  the  independence  of  the  Ju 
diciary.  Its  preservation,  Mr.  Dana  argued,  was  a 
thing  of  the  highest  moment  to  the  welfare  of  the 
State  and  of  every  citizen.  But,  if  Judge  Loring 
were  to  be  removed  by  the  method  proposed,  and 
for  the  reason  alleged,  it  would  receive  a  shock  of 
the  most  serious  character.  True,  the  Constitution 
gave  to  Government  the  power  of  removal  by 
Address ;  but  it  was  a  power  exceedingly  liable 
to  abuse,  and  this  removal  would  be  a  most  signal 
instance  of  its  abuse.  For  it  was  not  pretended 
that  Mr.  Loring  had  been  guilty  of  any  official 
misconduct ;  he  was  to  be  deprived  of  an  office  in 
which  it  was  admitted  he  had  borne  himself  well, 
because  in  another  capacity  he  had  offended  the 
popular  will.  If  by  such  an  example  the  Judges 
of  Massachusetts  were  taught  to  square  their  con 
duct  by  the  views  of  the  party  in  power,  their 
independence  would  soon  vanish  away. 

To  this  argument  the  answer  was  short  and  con- 


THE  TRIAL   OF   THE   COMMISSIONER.  239 

elusive.  The  independence  of  the  Judiciary  can 
ne  er  be  threatened  by  a  removal,  it  was  said, 
unless  the  removal  is  made  on  account  of  some 
judicial  act.  But  it  was  not  proposed  to  remove 
Judge  Loring  for  any  judicial  act;  his  removal, 
therefore,  could  not  possibly  influence  the  judicial 
conduct  of  other  judges.  Their  conduct  in  another 
respect  it  would  indeed  powerfully  influence ;  for, 
with  such  a  beacon  in  view,  no  Judge  of  Probate 
would  afterward  venture  to  lend  his  aid  in  executing 
the  fugitive  slave  law.  But  this  result  was  pre 
cisely  what  was  aimed  at,  and  it  was  entirely  con 
sistent  with  the  independence  of  the  Judiciary. 

Having  concluded  his  argument  on  this  point, 
Mr.  Dana  assumed  the  character  of  a  witness,  and, 
moved  either  by  compassion  or  love  of  justice, 
delivered  a  generous  testimony  in  the  Commission 
er's  behalf.  His  conduct  toward  the  prisoner  Mr. 
Dana  regarded  as  considerate  and  humane.  He 
had  encouraged  Burns  to  resolve  upon  making  a 
defence.  He  had  postponed  the  examination  from 
Thursday  to  Saturday,  and  again  from  Saturday 
to  Monday,  in  order  that  counsel  for  the  defence 
might  have  time  to  make  preparation.  He  had 
commanded  the  Marshal,  contrary  to  that  officer's 
inclinations,  to  admit  Mr.  Phillips  and  others  to 
the  prisoner's  cell  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  for 
a  defence.  He  had  zealously  co-operated  with 
others  in  the  attempts  to  purchase  the  prisoner's 
freedom ;  and  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  draw  up 
an  order,  in  view  of  the  contemplated  purchase, 


240  ANTHONY  BURNS. 

for  his  release  from  custody.  These  were  facts 
which  Mr.  Dana  thought  should  have  their  just 
weight  in  determining  the  culpability  of  the  Com 
missioner. 

But  all  arguments  and  representations,  even 
when  proceeding  from  such  an  influential  source, 
failed  of  producing  their  intended  effect.  On  the 
twenty-second  of  March,  the  Committee  made 
their  report.  It  was  not  a  model  state  paper,  but 
its  substance  was  weighty  and  close  to  the  point. 
It  sharply  dissected  the  Commissioner's  remon 
strance,  largely  vindicated  the  right  of  the  Legis 
lature  to  proceed  by  the  sovereign  method  of  Ad 
dress,  and  recapitulated,  under  four  heads,  the 
objections  against  the  Commissioner.  It  con 
cluded  with  recommending  that  an  Address  should 
be  presented  to  the  Governor  requesting  him  to 
remove  Mr.  Loring  from  his  judicial  office.  This 
report  was  signed  by  four  of  the  Committee.  Of 
the  remaining  three  members,  two  presented  a 
statement  of  reasons  for  not  signing  the  report  of 
the  majority,  and  the  third  presented  a  minority 
report.  Both  agreed  with  the  majority  in  their 
premises,  but  dissented  from  their  conclusion. 

The  question  of  adopting  the  report  came  up  in 
the  House  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  March.  But 
before  any  action  was  taken,  the  reports  were 
recommitted,  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Dana,  for  the 
purpose  of  hearing  further  testimony  on  the  ques 
tion  whether  the  Commissioner  had  prejudged  the 
case  of  Burns.  On  the  third  of  April,  a  meeting 


THE   TRIAL   OF  THE   COMMISSIONER.  241 

of  the  Committee  was  held  and  much  testimony 
was  taken.  Its  effect  was  simply  to  strengthen 
the  case  against  the  Commissioner.  On  the  fourth, 
the  Committee  reported  back  to  the  House  the 
original  report  slightly  altered,  and  it  was  made 
the  special  assignment  for  the  tenth.  During  the 
forenoon  and  afternoon  of  that  and  the  two  follow 
ing  days,  it  was  warmly  debated.  Various  expe 
dients  were  devised,  to  avert  the  impending  blow, 
but  none  of  them  availed.  On  the  fourteenth,  the 
House  resolved,  by  a  vote  of  two  hundred  and  six 
against  one  hundred  and  eleven,  to  send  an  Address 
to  the  Governor. 

The  action  of  the  Senate  was  even  more  deci 
sive.  On  the  twenty-seventh  of  the  same  month 
that  body,  after  mature  deliberation,  concurred 
with  the  House  by  a  vote  of  twenty- seven  against 
eleven. 

Within  a  few  days  after,  a  Committee  of  both 
Houses  proceeded  to  the  Council  Chamber  and 
presented  the  Address  to  the  Governor.  It  was  in 
these  words : 

"  The  two  branches  of  the  Legislature,  in  Gen 
eral  Court  assembled,  respectfully  request  that 
your  Excellency  would  be  pleased,  by  and  with 
the  advice  of  the  Council,  to  remove  Edward 
Greely  Loring  from  the  office  of  Judge  of  Probate 
for  the  county  of  Suffolk." 

The  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth  at  this  time 
was  Henry  Joseph  Gardner.  Like  his  predeces 
sor  in  office,  John  Hancock,  of  illustrious  memory, 
21 


242  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

he  was  a  Boston  merchant;  but  there  the  par 
allel  ended.  Mr.  Gardner  had  never,  like  him,  ren 
dered  any  service  to  the  State  which  could  possibly 
mark  him  out  as  a  fit  person  to  be  crowned  with 
the  honors  of  the  chief  magistracy.  Prior  to  his  ele 
vation,  he  had  been  placed  by  his  fellow-citizens  of 
Boston  in  various  situations  favorable  for  winning 
distinction — in  municipal  office,  in  the  Legislature, 
in  the  Constitutional  Convention  —  but  in  none  of 
them  had  he  risen  above  the  level  of  respectable  me 
diocrity.  In  the  Constitutional  Convention,  which 
embraced  the  chief  men  of  all  parties  in  the  state, 
his  position  was  among  the  followers  and  not 
among  the  leaders  ;  throughout  its  deliberations  he 
acted  no  conspicuous  part,  nor  did  he  leave  the  im 
press  of  his  mind  on  any  measure,  whether  of  those 
that  were  adopted  or  of  those  that  were  rejected. 
The  dissolution  of  that  body  left  him  in  the  posi 
tion  of  a  private  citizen.  While  thus  situated,  a 
sudden  freak  of  fortune  elevated  him  to  the  chief 
place  of  honor  in  the  Commonwealth.  Early  in 
the  autumn  following  the  extradition  of  Burns,  a 
convention  of  the  secret  party  already  mentioned, 
assembled  in  secret  to  nominate  a  candidate  for 
Governor.  After  a  fierce  contest  among  the  parti 
sans  of  several  candidates  whose  names  had  been 
made  familiar  to  the  public,  the  choice  of  the  conven 
tion,  to  the  surprise  of  every  one,  fell  upon  Mr.  Gard 
ner,  whose  name  had  not  even  been  mentioned.  In 
the  canvass  which  followed,  he  displayed  qualities  as 
a  political  tactician  of  which  his  previous  career  had 


THE   TRIAL    OP   THE   COMMISSIONER.  243 

given  no  promise.  He  adopted  a  line  of  policy, 
the  audacity  of  which  confounded  his  foes  and 
excited  the  admiration  of  his  friends.  His  master 
stroke  was  a  proclamation  by  letter  of  his  abhor 
rence  of  the  fugitive  slave  law.  To  this  public 
assurance,  were  added  private  assurances  of  a  still 
stronger  character.  Thus  pledged  on  the  great 
grievance  which  Massachusetts  had  to  redress,  Mr. 
Gardner  was  borne  triumphantly  into  power. 

The  removal  of  Judge  Loring  became  the  first 
and  chief  test  of  his  fidelity  to  his  pledges.  Had  op 
portunity  been  presented  for  him  to  act  on  the  case 
immediately  after  his  election,  there  was  no  reason 
to  doubt  that  he  would  have  promptly  made  the 
removal.  But  in  the  interval  of  six  months  which 
elapsed,  a  change  came  over  the  complexion  of 
public  affairs  that  raised  doubts  about  the  course 
he  would  take.  Opinion  was  divided.  Those  who 
desired  the  removal  were  confident  that  he  would 
comply  with  their  wishes,  for  he  had  privately  in 
formed  some  of  their  number  that  he  longed  for  an 
opportunity  to  do  the  deed.  Others,  who  drew 
their  conclusions  from  different  premises,  predicted 
that  he  would  court  the  favor  of  Virginia  and  risk 
that  of  Massachusetts. 

Speculation  was  speedily  put  to  rest.  On  the 
tenth  of  May,  Governor  Gardner  transmitted  a 
message  to  the  Legislature  declining  to  comply  with 
the  prayer  of  their  Address.  •  ', 

Thus  ended  the  trial  of  the  Commissioner. 
Through  the  intervention  of  the  Governor  he  was 


244  ANTHONY   BURNS. 

suffered  still  to  enjoy  the  emoluments  of  his  office. 
But  no  Governor  could  deprive  the  judgment  of 
the  Legislature  of  its  moral  power.  In  the  archives 
of  the  State  is  laid  up,  for  perpetual  remembrance,  a 
record  declaring  it  to  be  the  will  of  Massachusetts, 
that  under  no  plea  of  duty  to  the  Federal  Govern 
ment  shall  her  Judges  of  Probate  be  suffered  to 
compromise  her  character  by  sending  back  fugitives 
into  slavery. 


LIBERTY  and  LAW  are  both  precious  to  the 
People  of  Massachusetts.  But  Law  is  precious  as 
the  guardian  of  Liberty  and  in  nowise  as  her  op 
pressor.  When  Law  turned  against  Liberty  in  the 
epoch  of  1776,  the  People  rose  and  put  down  Law. 
But  after  Liberty  had  been  reinstated  in  her  right 
ful  supremacy,  their  next  care  was  to  re-establish 
Law  also.  The  lesson  contained  in  this  History 
points  to  the  same  result.  It  represents  Law  in 
the  attitude  of  striking  Liberty  with  the  military 
arm,  and  the  People  aroused  and  angered  by  the 
assault.  Their  passion  rose  not  then  to  the  height 
of  overwhelming  Law,  but  it  rose  to  the  height  of 
warning  against  a  repetition  of  the  tragic  act. 
The  remedy  of  1776  will  be  their  reluctant  last 
resort,  but  they  are  pledged  by  the  Declaration  to 
its  use  when  every  other  fails.  And  meanwhile, 
they  will  be  swift  to  punish,  as  the  enemies  of  both, 
those  wffo  array  Law  against  Liberty.  The  Crest 
of  their  escutcheon  is  not  an  unmeaning  symbol. 


APPENDIX 


21* 


APPENDIX  A. 

WARRANT  FOR  THE  ARREST  OF  BURNS. 

United  States  of  America,  Massachusetts  District,  ss. 

To  the  Marshal  of  our  District  of  Massachusetts,  or  to 
either  of  his  Deputies,  Greeting : 

IN  the  name  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  you  are  hereby  commanded  forthwith  to  appre 
hend  Anthony  Burns,  a  negro  man,  alleged  now  to  be  in 
your  District,  charged  with  being  a  fugitive  from  labor, 
and  with  having  escaped  from  service  in  the  State  of  Vir 
ginia,  if  he  may  be  found  in  your  precinct,  and  have  him 
forthwith  before  me,  Edward  G.  Loring,  one  of  the  Com 
missioners  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States  for 
the  said  District,  then  and  there  to  answer  to  the  complaint 
of  Charles  F.  Suttle,  of  Alexandria  hi  the  said  State  of 
Virginia,  merchant,  alleging,  under  oath,  that  the  said  An 
thony  Burns,  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  March  last,  did, 
and  for  a  long  time  prior  thereto  had  owed  service  and 
labor  to  him,  the  said  Suttle,  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  under 
the  laws  thereof;  and  that,  while  held  to  service  there  by 
said  Suttle,  the  said  Burns  escaped  from  the  said  State 
of  Virginia  into  the  said  State  of  Massachusetts ;  and  that 
said  Burns  still  owes  service  and  labor  to  said  Suttle,  in 
the  said  State  of  Virginia,  and  praying  that  said  Burns 
may  be  restored  to  him,  said  Suttle,  in  said  State  of  Vir- 

(247) 


248 


APPENDIX. 


ginia,  and  that  such  further  proceedings  may  then  and 
there  be  had  in  the  premises  as  are  by  law  in  such  cases 
provided.  Hereof  fail  not,  and  make  due  return  of  this 
writ,  with  your  doings  thereto,  before  me. 

Witness  my  hand  and  seal,  of  Boston  aforesaid,  this 
twenty-fourth  day  of  May,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  fifty-four. 

EDW.  G.  LORING,   Commissioner. 

United  States  of  America,   Boston,   Massachusetts  District,  ss. 

May  25,  1854. 

Pursuant  herewith,  I  have  arrested  the  within  named 
Anthony  Burns,  and  now  have  him  before  the  Commis 
sioner  within  named,  for  examination. 

WATSON  FREEMAN,   United  States  Marshal 


APPENDIX    B. 

THE    WRIT    OF   PERSONAL    REPLEVIN. 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  Suffolk,  ss. 

To  the  Sheriff  of  our  County  of  Suffolk,  or  his  Deputy, 
or  either  of  the  Coroners  thereof,  Greeting : 

"WE  command  you  that,  justly  and  without  delay,  you 
cause  to  be  replevied  Anthony  Burns,  of  Boston,  in  our 
said  county,  laborer,  who  (as  it  is  said)  is  taken  and  de 
tained  at  Boston,  within  our  said  county,  by  the  duress  of 
Charles  F.  Suttle,  of  Alexandria,  in  the  State  of  Virginia, 
trader,  that  he,  the  said  Burns,  may  appear  at  our  Court 
of  Common  Pleas  next  to  be  holden  at  Boston,  within  and 
for  our  said  County  of  Suffolk,  on  the  first  Tuesday  of 
July  next,  then  and  there  in  our  said  Court  to  demand 
right  and  justice  against  the  said  Suttle  for  the  duress  and 
imprisonment- aforesaid,  and  to  prosecute  his  replevin  as 
the  law  directs.  Provided  the  said  Anthony  Burns  shall, 
before  his  deliverance,  give  bond  to  the  said  Charles  F. 
Suttle  in  such  sum  as  you  shall  consider  reasonable,  and 
with  two  sureties  at  the  least,  having  sufficient  within  your 
county,  with  condition  to  appear  at  our  said  Court  to  pros 
ecute  his  replevin  against  the  said  Suttle,  and  to  have  his 
body  there  ready  to  be  re-delivered  if  thereto  ordered  by 
the  Court,  and  to  pay  all  such  damages  and  costs  as  shall  be 
then  and  there  awarded  against  him.  Then,  and  not  oth 
erwise,  are  you  to  deliver  him.  And  if  the  said  Anthony 

(249) 


250  APPENDIX. 

Burns  be  by  you  delivered  at  any  day  before  the  sitting 
of  our  said  Court,  you  are  to  summon  the  said  Suttle,  by 
serving  him  with  an  attested  copy  of  this  writ,  that  he  may 
appear  at  our  said  Court  to  answer  to  the  said  Anthony 
Burns. 

Witness,  DANIEL  WELLS,  Esquire,  at  Boston,  the  sec 
ond  day  of  June,1  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  fifty-four. 

JOSEPH  WILLARD,  Clerk. 

BOND. 

KNOW  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  we,  Anthony 
Burns,  of  Boston,  in  the  County  of  Suffolk  and  Common 
wealth  of  Massachusetts,  laborer,  as  principal,  and  Francis 
Jackson,  Timothy  Gilbert,  Wendell  Phillips,  and  Samuel 
E.  Sewall,  all  of  said  Boston,  as  sureties,  are  holden  and 
stand  firmly  bound  and  obliged  unto  Charles  F.  Suttle,  of 
Alexandria,  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  trader,  in  the  full 
and  just  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars,  to  be  paid  unto  the 
said  Charles  F.  Suttle,  his  executors,  administrators,  or 
assigns :  to  which  payment,  well  and  truly  to  be  made,  we 
bind  ourselves,  our  heirs,  executors,  and  administrators, 
jointly  and  severally,  firmly  by  these  presents:  Sealed 
with  our  seals.  —  Dated  the  second  day  of  June,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty- 
four. 

The  condition  of  this  obligation  is  such  that  whereas 
the  said  Burns  has  this  day  sued  out  a  writ  of  personal 

1In  the  original,  the  words  "thirty-first"  day  of  "May"  were 
first  written,  and  afterwards  erased.  The  writ  was  in  fact  made  on 
Wednesday,  the  31st  of  May,  in  the  expectation  that  the  decision 
would  be  pronounced  on  that  day,  and  the  date  was  altered  to  make 
it  conform  to  the  day  on  which  it  was  actually  pronounced. 


APPENDIX.  251 

replevin  against  said  'Buttle,  returnable  before  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas  next  to  be  holden  at  said  Boston,  within 
and  for  said  County  of  Suffolk,  on  the  first  Tuesday  of 
July  next  — 

Now  if  the  said  Bunas  shall  appear  at  the  said  Court 
and  prosecute  his  said  replevin  against  the  said  Charles  F. 
Suttle,  and  have  his,  the  said  Burns's,  body  there  ready  to 
be  re-delivered  if  thereto  ordered  by  the  Court ;  and  shall 
pay  all  such  damages  and  costs  as  shall  be  then  and  there 
awarded  against  him  —  then  this  obligation  shall  be  void, 
otherwise  shall  remain  in  force. 

Signed,  sealed,  and       >  ANTONY  BURNS,  [Seal.] 

delivered  in  presence  of  $  £y  ^V  PHILLIPS. 

LYSANDER  SPOONER,  WENDELL  PHILLIPS.  [Seal.] 

Witness  to  F.  J,  T.  G.,  TIMOTHY  GILBERT.  [Seal.] 

and  S.  E.  S.  -^  re     T  T 

CHAS.  G.  DAVIS,  FKANCIS  JACKSON.  [Sea.] 

To  W.  P.  &  A.  BURNS  S'  E"  SETVALL.  [Seal.] 


APPENDIX    C. 

RECORD    OF   THE    VIRGINIA    COURT, 

"  IN  ALEXANDRIA  CIRCUIT  COURT,  May  1 G,  1854.  On 
the  application  of  Charles  F.  Suttle,  who  this  day  appeared 
in  Court  and  made  satisfactory  proof  to  the  Court  that  An 
thony  Burns  was  held  to  service  and  labor  by  him,  the 
said  Suttle,  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  and  service  and  labor 
are  due  to  him,  said  Suttle,  from  the  said  Anthony,  and 
that  the  said  Anthony  has  escaped  from  the  State  afore 
said,  and  that  the  said  service  and  labor  are  due  him,  the 
said  Suttle,  the  master  of  the  said  Anthony ;  and  having 
further  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Court  that  the  said 
Anthony  is  a  man  of  dark  complexion,  about  six  feet  high, 
with  a  scar  on  one  of  his  cheeks,  and  also  a  scar  on  the 
back  of  his  right  hand,  and  about  twenty-three  or  four 
years  of  age,  —  it  is  therefore  ordered,  in  pursuance  of  an 
act  of  Congress,  entitled  '  An  Act  to  amend  and  supple 
mentary  to  the  Act  entitled  "  An  Act  respecting  fugitives 
from  justice,  and  persons  escaping  from  their  masters,"  ' 
approved  Feb.  12,  1703,  that  the  matter  so  prayed  and 
set  forth  be  entered  on  the  record  of  this  Court." 

State  of  Virginia,  County  of  Alexandria,  ss. 

"I,  Franklin  L.  Burkett,  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court  of 
Alexandria  county,  in  the  State  aforesaid,  do  hereby  cer 
tify  that  the  foregoing  is  a  true  transcript  from  the  records 
of  said  Court. 

(252) 


APPENDIX.  253 

"In  testimony  whereof,  I  hereto  subscribe  my  name,  and 
annex  the  seal  of  said  Court,  this  13th  day  of  May,  1854, 
and  in  the  78th  year  of  the  Commonwealth. 

[L.  s.]     F.  L.  BURKETT,  Clerk  of  Alexandria  C.  C." 

"  State  of  Virginia,  County  of  Alexandria,  ss. 
"  I,  John  W.  Tyler,  presiding  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court 
of  Alexandria  county,  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  do  certify 
that  Franklin  L.  Burkett,  whose  name  is  affixed  to  the 
preceding  certificate  as  clerk  of  the  said  Court,  is  clerk 
thereof,  and  his  said  attestation  is  in  due  form. 

"  Given  under  my  hand  this  18th  day  of  May,  1854. 

"JOHN  W.  TYLER." 

22 


APPENDIX    D. 

THE    DECISION     WHICH    JUDGE     LORING     MIGHT     HA.VE 
GIVEN. 

FRIDAY,  June  2,  1854. 

MR.  COMMISSIONER  LORING  came  in  at  9  o'clock,  and, 
the  parties  being  all  present,  pronounced  the  following 

DECISION. 

The  question  submitted  to  my  decision  is,  whether  I 
shall  award  to  the  claimant,  Charles  F.  Suttle,  a  certifi 
cate,  authorizing  him  to  take  and  carry  to  Virginia  the 
respondent,  Anthony  Burns,  whom  he  claims  as  owing 
him  service  and  labor.  The  kind  of  service  which  he  sets 
up  is  that  of  a  slave. 

The  respondent's  counsel  have  objected  to  the  constitu 
tionality  of  the  act  of  1850,  tinder  which  these  proceed 
ings  are  held,  and  to  my  right  to  act  in  the  premises,  on 
several  grounds. 

[The  Commissioner  then  stated  the  points  of  objection 
and  overruled  them  successively,  and  declared  his  opinion 
to  be  that,  upon  the  precedents,  he  was  bound  to  hold  the 
statute  constitutional  in  all  the  points  affecting  this  case. 
We  omit  his  decision  on  these  points,  as  being  of  less  im 
mediate  interest.] 

The  facts  to  be  proved  by  the  claimant  are  three  : 

1.  That  Anthony  Burns  was  his  slave  by  the  law  of 
Virginia. 

(254) 


APPENDIX.  255 

2.  That  Anthony  Burns  escaped  from  slavery  in  Vir 
ginia. 

3.  That  the  prisoner  is  the  Anthony  Burns  in  ques 
tion. 

To  prove  the  first  point,  the  claimant  introduces  one 
witness,  Mr.  William  Brent,  of  Virginia.  Mr.  Brent's 
testimony  shows  that  Burns  has  stood  in  the  relation  of  a 
slave  to  Col.  Suttle  from  his  boyhood.  It  also  shows  that, 
at  the  time  of  the  alleged  escape,  Col.  Suttle  had  leased 
Burns  to  one  Millspaugh  of  Richmond,  and  that  Burns 
was  then,  and  had  for  some  time  been,  in  the  custody  and 
under  the  control  of  Millspaugh,  and  that  he  escaped,  if 
at  all,  from  the  custody  and  service  of  Millspaugh.  It  is 
objected  by  the  defendant's  counsel,  that  this  evidence 
shows  that  Col.  Suttle  is  not  entitled  to  the  certificate. 
This  raises,  certainly,  a  serious  question.  By  the  law  of 
Virginia,  slaves  are  chattels,  and  the  lessee  of  the  chattel, 
being  in  possession,  has  the  sole  and  exclusive  right, 
against  the  general  owner  himself,  to  the  possession  and 
control  of  the  chattel  during  the  lease.  The  constitution 
ality  of  this  statute  is  sustained  on  the  ground  that  the  de 
cision  in  these  proceedings  affects  merely  the  possession 
and  temporary  control  of  the  party  claimed,  and  does  not 
affect  the  general  property  or  title.  If  it  were  otherwise, 
it  would  constitute  a  suit  at  law,  and  a  trial  by  jury  would 
be  necessary.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  quite  clear  that 
upon  the  claimant's  own  theory,  Mr.  Millspaugh,  and  not 
he,  is  the  person  entitled  to  claim  this  certificate.  If  Mr. 
Millspaugh  and  Col.  Suttle  were  to  interplead  before  me, 
each  claiming  the  certificate,  I  cannot  doubt  that  I  should 
be  obliged  to  grant  it  to  the  former. 

To  prove  the  second  point,  viz. ;  the  escape,  the  claim 
ant  also  offers  the  evidence  of  Mr.  Brent.  Mr.  Brent 


256  APPENDIX. 

says  only  that  Burns  was  in  Richmond  up  to  the  24th  day 
of  March,  and  was  then  and  ever  since  "  missing."  He 
does  not  say  that  he  went  away  without  the  leave  of  Mr. 
Millspaugh,  who  alone  had  the  right  to  control  his  move 
ments,  and  how  or  why  he  was  missing.  To  explain  the 
act  of  Burns,  they  offer  evidence  of  his  conversation  with 
Col.  Suttle,  on  the  night  of  his  arrest.  In  this  conversa 
tion  he  says  that  he  did  not  escape ;  but  that,  being  on 
board  a  vessel  at  work,  he  was  tired  and  fell  asleep,  and 
was  brought  off  by  accident.  Now  this  story  may  not  be 
true,  but  it  is  put  in  by  the  claimant,  and  it  is  the  very 
evidence  tending  to  explain  the  act  of  Burns,  and  the 
claimant  is  bound  by  it.  Therefore,  the  claimant's  evi 
dence  not  only  fails  to  show  an  escape,  but  shows  affirma 
tively  that  there  was  no  escape.  To  entitle  the  claimant 
to  his  certificate,  there  must  be,  both  by  the  Constitution 
and  the  statute,  an  escape.  It  is  of  no  consequence  how 
or  why  the  slave  came  into  a  free  state,  —  \vhether  by 
accident  or  mistake,  or  by  a  superior  power ;  unless  he 
escaped  by  his  own  voluntary  act,  against  the  will  of  his 
master,  the  casus  foederis  does  not  arise.  (Sims'  case, 
7  Cush.  298.) 

On  the  oral  evidence,  then,  the  claimant  must  fail  on  the 
second  requirement  of  the  statute,  even  if  the  point  as  to 
the  lease  were  not  sustained. 

But  the  claimant  puts  into  the  case  a  transcript  of  a 
record  made  out  ex-parte,  in  Virginia,  in  pursuance  of  the 
10th  section  of  the  act  of  1850.  This  act  declares  that 
this  record  "  shall  be  held  and  taken  to  be  full  and  conclu 
sive  evidence  of  the  fact  of  escape,  and  that  the  service  or 
labor  of  the  person  escaping  is  due  to  the  party  in  such 
record  mentioned."  The  record  sets  forth  that  Anthony 
Bums  does  owe  service  and  labor  to  Col.  Suttle  by  a  law 


APPENDIX.  257 

of  Virginia,  and  that  he  escaped  from  such  service  and 
labor  in  Virginia.  If,  then,  this  record  is  to  be  received, 
and  to  have  its  full  statutory  effect,  the  title  and  escape 
are  established,  and  the  only  question  open  to  me  is  that 
of  identity.  But  I  should  be  slow  to  believe  that  any 
statute  of  this  land  was  intended  to  make  an  ex-parte  rec 
ord  conclusive  against  the  proof  actually  made  by  the 
party  who  offers  it,  on  a  trial  in  presence  of  both  parties. 

Here  is  a  trial,  with  witnesses  on  the  stand,  in  presence 
of  both  parties,  and  the  claimant's  own  proof  shows  him 
not  entitled  to  prevail.  Can  it  be  that  he  may  fall  back 
upon  proof  offered  at  an  ex-parte  hearing,  previously  and 
elsewhere,  and  contradict  and  control  his  own  proof  here, 
and  compel  the  Court  to  decide  against  the  evidence  ? 
The  defendant's  counsel  contend  that  by  offering  proof  of 
the  title  and  escape,  other  than  the  record,  the  claimant 
proceeds  under  the  6th  section,  and  not  the  10th,  and  is 
not  entitled  to  use  the  record,  the  two  sections  providing 
for  separate  and  distinct  proceedings ;  also  that  the  conclu- 
siveness  of  the  record  cannot  apply  to  the  claimant's  own 
proof,  but  only  prohibits  the  defendant  from  controverting 
the  record  by  proof.  They  also  object  to  the  instrument 
on  the  ground  that  it  is  not  a  record,  but  only  a  recital 
that  there  is  a  record  which  is  not  produced,  and  because 
it  does  not  describe  the  party  with  "  convenient  certainty," 
as  required  by  the  statute,  inasmuch  as  it  does  not  say 
whether  he  is  a  white,  a  negro,  an  Indian,  or  a  mulatto, 
but  only  that  he  is  "  dark-complexioned."  If  on  any  one 
of  these  grounds  of  objection  the  record  is  not  received,  or 
not  allowed  to  have  conclusive  e'ffect,  the  claimant  must 
fail,  because  no  escapeJias  been  proved,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  objection  as  to  the  lease. 

22* 


258  APPENDIX. 

Without  deciding,  at  present,  whether  the  record  is  to  be 
received  or  not,  I  will  pass  to  the  question  of  identity. 

The  testimony  of  the  claimant  is  from  a  single  witness, 
and  he  standing  in  circumstances  which  would  necessarily 
bias  the  fairest  mind  —  but  other  imputation  than  this  has 
not  been  offered  against  him,  and  from  anything  that  has 
appeared  before  me  cannot  be.  His  means  of  knowledge 
are  personal,  direct,  and  qualify  him  to  testify  confidently, 
and  he  has  done  so. 

The  testimony  on  the  part  of  the  respondent  is  from 
many  witnesses  whose  integrity  is  admitted,  and  to  whom 
no  imputation  of  bias  can  be  attached  by  the  evidence  in 
the  case,  and  whose  means  of  knowledge  are  personal  and 
direct,  but,  in  my  opinion,  less  full  and  complete  than  that 
of  Mr.  Brent.  Then,  between  the  testimony  of  the  claim 
ant  and  respondent,  there  is  a  conflict,  complete  and  irre 
concilable.  The  question  of  identity  on  such  a  conflict  of 
testimony  is  not  unprecedented  nor  uncommon  in  judicial 
proceedings,  and  the  trial  of  Dr.  "Webster  furnishes  a 
memorable  instance  of  it. 

The  question  now  is,  whether  there  is  other  evidence  in 
this  case  which  will  determine  this  conflict.  In  every  case 
of  disputed  identity,  there  is  one  person  always  whose 
knowledge  is  perfect  and  positive,  and  whose  evidence  is 
not  within  the  reach  of  error,  and  that  is  the  person 
whose  identity  is  questioned,  and  such  evidence  is  offered 
in  this  case.  The  evidence  is  of  the  conversation  which 
took  place  between  Burns  and  the  claimant  on  the  night 
of  the  arrest. 

It  may  be  conceded  that  this  evidence,  if  received  and 
allowed  its  full  weight,  would  establish  the  identity  of  the 
prisoner  with  the  Anthony  Burns  named  in  the  record,  be 
yond  a  reasonable  doubt.  The  conversation  took  place 


APPENDIX.  259 

very  shortly  after  the  arrest  of  Burns,  at  the  time  he  firsfc 
discovered  that  he  was  claimed  as  a  slave,  and  while  he 
was  in  custody.  The  only  person  examined  as  to  his 
state  of  mind,  a  witness  for  the  claimant,  says  that  at  first 
Burns  appeared  intimidated,  but  latterly  had  been  entirely 
composed.  Of  course  this  state  of  intimidation  applies  to 
the  time  of  the  conversation,  which  was  at  the  first  mo 
ment  he  knew  he  was  held  as  a  slave ;  and  I  remember 
that  the  next  morning  I  thought  him  in  such  a  state  as  to 
require  me  to  allow  him  an  adjournment,  in  order  to  make 
up  his  mind  what  course  he  would  pursue.  It  is  said  that 
the  language  of  Col.  Suttle  to  him, ' I  make  you  no  prom 
ises  and  no  threats —  I  make  no  compromises  with  you/ 
may  be  considered  as  intimidating  in  its  character,  or  at 
least  as  intimating  to  the  prisoner  that  his  treatment  here 
after  would  be  according  to  his  conduct  there ;  and  I  am 
requested  to  rule  out  this  evidence,  on  the  ground  that  the 
admissions  of  an  alleged  slave  to  his  master,  while  in  cus 
tody  during  a  trial  for  his  freedom,  are  not  legal  evidence 
for  the  claimant,  and  on  the  further  ground  that,  if  not  ob 
jectionable  on  general  rules,  there  is  evidence  here  of 
actual  duress  and  influence.  Another  objection  is,  that 
the  conversation  put  in  by  the  claimant  is  entire,  and  that 
if  any  part  of  it  is  received,  the  whole  must  be  received. 
His  conversation,  taken  at  the  worst  for  the  respondent^ 
asserts  that  he  is  the  party  named  in  the  record,  and  was 
the  slave  of  the  claimant,  but  shows  that  he  did  not  escape. 
It  is  an  inflexible  rule  of  law,  founded  in  justice,  that  the 
whole  of  an  admission  must  be  taken  together.  If,  there 
fore,  I  am  to  receive  this  conversation,  while  it  would  sat 
isfy  me  of  the  identity,  it  would  negative  the  escape.  But 
the  claimant  says  the  record  is  conclusive  on  the  point  of 
escape.  If  so,  I  must  reject  a  portion  of  this  conversa- 


260  APPENDIX. 

tion,  because  it  conflicts  with  the  record,  and  if  I  reject  a 
part  on  such  grounds,  by  the  claimant's  act,  must  I  not 
reject  the  whole  ?  If  so,  the  identity  is  not  proved.  The 
claimant's  case  is  in  this  dilemma.  If  the  record  is  re 
ceived  and  is  conclusive,  it  seems  to  me  that  I  must  reject 
the  entire  conversation,  because  I  cannot  take  the  part 
that  convicts  him  if  I  must  reject  the  part  that  acquits  him, 
and  the  claimant  fails  because  the  identity  is  left  in  doubt. 
If  the  record  is  rejected,  the  entire  conversation  goes  in, 
the  identity  is  proved,  but  the  escape  is  negatived.  There 
fore,  whether  the  record  is  received  or  rejected,  the  claim 
ant  must  fail. 

Let  me  restate  the  conclusions  to  which  I  am  led,  on 
the  several  points.  I  think  myself  bound  by  the  prece 
dents  to  hold  the  statute  constitutional,  and  to  hold  that  I 
have  jurisdiction  in  the  premises.  It  is  the  inclination  of 
my  belief  that  this  record,  if  otherwise  sufficient,  cannot 
be  admissible  as  conclusive  on  the  Court  against  the  posi 
tive  proof  of  the  claimant  himself,  and  that,  without  the 
aid  of  the  conclusiveness  of  the  record,  the  claimant  has 
not  proved  an  escape,  or  a  right  of  possession  in  himself. 
On  the  point  of  identity,  even  if  the  title  and  escape  were 
proved,  there  is  a  reasonable  doubt  on  the  evidence  of  the 
witnesses,  and  the  burden  of  proof  is  on  the  claimant  to 
establish  the  identity  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt.  If  the 
admissions  of  Burns  were  received  and  allowed  full  weight, 
it  would  remove  this  reasonable  doubt.  To  say  nothing 
of  the  objections  to  the  competency  of  these  admissions  on 
general  principles,  or  under  the  circumstances  of  this  case, 
I  am  not  willing  to  receive  that  part  of  a  conversation 
which  convicts  a  man,  if  I  am  obliged,  by  the  act  of  the 
other  party,  to  reject  that  part  which  acquits  him.  If, 
therefore,  the  record  is  received,  the  entire  conversation 


APPENDIX.  261 

goes  out,  and  the  identity  is  not  proved.  If  the  record 
is  rejected,  the  entire  conversation  goes  in  and  the  identity 
is  proved,  but  the  title  and  escape  are  not  proved.  On 
any  of  these  grounds  I  am  prepared  to  place  my  decision. 
This  result  may  be  owing  to  the  accidents  and  mistakes 
which  sometimes  attend  legal  testimony,  and  arise  in  the 
vicissitudes  and  complications  of  novel  proceedings  at  law. 
But  I  am  bound  to  know  only  the  evidence  legally  before 
me.  The  certificate  is  refused  and  the  prisoner  must  be 
discharged. 


APPENDIX    E. 

THE  COMMIS SIGNER'S  CERTIFICATE. 

United  States  of  America,  Massachusetts  District,  ss. 

WHEREAS,  Charles  F.  Suttle,  of  Alexandria,  in  the 
State  of  Virginia,  merchant,  hath  produced  and  exhibited 
to  me  the  transcript  of  the  record  of  the  Circuit  Court  of 
the  County  of  Alexandria,  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  authen 
ticated  by  the  attestation  of  the  clerk,  and  of  the  said 
Courts,  by  which  it  appears,  that  on  the  tenth  day  of  May 
last  the  said  Suttle  appeared  to  said  Court,  and  made  sat 
isfactory  proof  to  the  same,  that  one  Anthony  Burns  was 
held  to  service  and  labor  by  him,  the  said  Suttle,  in  the 
said  State  of  Virginia ;  and  that  the  said  Anthony  escaped 
from  the  State  of  Virginia  aforesaid ;  and  that  this  said 
service  and  labor  are  still  due  to  him,  the  said  Suttle,  the 
master  of  the  said  Anthony ;  and  further  proved  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  said  Court,  that  the  said  Anthony  is  a 
man  of  dark  complexion,  about  six  feet  high,  with  a  scar 
on  one  of  his  cheeks,  and  also  a  scar  on  the  back  of  his 
right  hand,  and  about  twenty-three  or  four  years  of  age  ; 
and  whereas,  it  hath  also  been  proved  before  me,  on  the 
oath  of  a  credible  witness,  that  the  said  Anthony  Burns, 
a  colored  man,  now  in  the  custody  of  Watson  Freeman, 
Esq.,  Marshal  of  the  United  States,  for  the  District  of 
Massachusetts  aforesaid,  on  a  warrant  issued  by  me  for  his 
apprehension,  is  the  same  Anthony  Burns  mentioned  and 
described  in  the  aforesaid  transcript  of  a  record,  and  therein 

(262) 


APPENDIX.  263 

certified  as  owing  service  and  labor  to  the  said  Charles  F. 
Suttle,  the  claimant  of  the  said  Burns  is  authorized  to  re 
move  him,  the  said  Burns,  from  the  State  of  Massachusetts 
back  to  the  State  of  Virginia,  pursuant  to  the  act  of  Con 
gress  passed  on  the  18th  of  September,  A.  D.  1850, 
entitled  "An  act  to  amend,  and  supplementary  to,  'an 
act  respecting  fugitives  from  justice  and  persons  escaping 
from  the  service  of  their  masters/  approved  February 
12th,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-three." 

Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  at  Boston,  on  this  second 
day  of  June,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
fifty-four. 

(Signed)  EDWARD  G.  LORING,  [Seal.] 

One  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  by  the  Circuit  Court  of  the 
United  States,  for  the  First  Circuit  and  District  of  Massachusetts,  to 
take  the  bail  and  affidavits  in  civil  causes. 

"I  have  reason  to  believe  and  apprehend  that  said  fugi 
tive  will  be  rescued  from  me  before  he  can  be  taken 
beyond  the  limits  of  this  State  in  which  he  has  been 
arrested ;  and  I  therefore  request  the  officer  who  made  the 
arrest,  to  wit,  Watson  Freeman,  Esq.,  United  States  Mar 
shal  for  the  said  District  of  Massachusetts,  to  remove  the 
said  fugitive  to  said  Alexandria,  and  there  to  deliver  him 
to  me." 

[Extract  from  Suttle's  affidavit  before  a  U.  S.  Commissioner.] 


APPENDIX    F. 

MILITARY    ORDERS    OF   MAYOR    SMITH. 

BOSTON,  May  27,  1854,  5  o'clock,  P.  M. 
To  General  B.  F.  Edmands: 

SIR,  —  You  are  requested  to  keep  two  military  compa 
nies  on  duty  through  the  ensuing  night,  to  preserve  order 
in  the  city,  by  co-operating  with  the  civil  authorities,  ac 
cording  to  the  spirit  of  the  communication  made  to  you  in 
the  morning,  and  until  further  orders. 

J.  V.  C.  SMITH,  Mayor. 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  Suffolk,  ss., 

BOSTON,  May  27,  1854. 

To  Major  General  Benjamin  F.  Edmands,  Commanding 
the  1st  Division  of  Massachusetts  Volunteer  Militia. 

WHEREAS  it  is  made  to  appear  to  me,  J.  V. 

•j    Seal  i  C.  Smith,  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Boston,  that 

V^-Y-^/    there  is  threatened  a  tumult,  riot,  and  mob  of 

a  body  of  men,  acting  together,  by  force,  with  intent  to 

offer  violence  to  persons  and  property,  and  by  force  and 

violence  to  break  and  resist  the  laws  of  this  Commonwealth 

in  the  said  County  of  Suffolk,  and  that  military  force  is 

necessary  to  aid  the  civil  authorities  in  suppressing  the 

same,  — 

(264) 


APPENDIX.  265 

Now,  therefore,  I  command  you  that  you  cause  two 
companies  of  your  command,  armed  and  equipped,  and 
with  proper  ammunition,  as  the  laws  direct,  and  with  the 
necessary  officers  attached,  to  parade  at  their  respective 
armories,  at  10  o'clock  A.  M.,  then  and  there  to  obey  such 
orders  as  shall  be  given  them,  according  to  law. 

Hereof  fail  not  at  your  peril ;  and  have  you  then  and 
there  this  warrant,  with  your  doings  returned  thereon. 

"Witness  my  hand,  and  seal  of  the  city  of  Boston,  this 
27th  day  of  May,  A.  D.  1854. 

J.  V.  C.  SMITH, 
Mayor  of  the  City  of  Boston. 

The  following  was  afterward  indorsed  by  the  Mayor, 
upon  the  same  warrant : 

BOSTON,  May  29th,  1854,  half-past  12,  P.  M. 

"  You  are  requested  to  call  into  service  two  more  com 
panies,  for  the  remainder  of  this  day. 

"J.  V.  C.  SMITH,  Mayor." 

CITY  HALL,  May  31,  1854. 

General  Edmonds,  —  After  a  careful  examination  of 
the  condition  of  the  city  this  morning,  I  feel  justified  in 
saying,  that  one  military  company  will  be  amply  sufficient 
from  this  date,  till  further  orders,  to  maintain  order  and 
suppress  any  riotous  proceedings  —  acting  in  concert  with 
the  police. 

At  9  o'clock  this  morning,  therefore,  you  will  please 
discharge  one  of  the  two  companies  on  duty,  under  your 
command.  Very  respectfully,  &c., 

J.  V.  C.  SMITH,  Mayor. 
23 


266  APPENDIX. 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  Suffolk,  ss. 

May  31,  1854. 
To  Major  General  Edmands,  Commanding  the  1st  Division 

of  Massachusetts  Volunteer  Militia. 
,-^-x^-^         WHEREAS  it  has  been  made  to  appear  to 
•]    Seal.    >•  me,  J.  V.  C.  Smith,  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Bos- 
V^-Y--^>     ton,  that  there  is  threatened  a  tumult,  a  riot, 
or  a  mob  of  a  body  of  men  acting  together,  by  force,  with 
intent  to  offer  violence  to  persons  and  property,  and  to 
break  and  resist  the  laws  of  this  Commonwealth,  and  that 
military  force  is  necessary  to  aid  the  civil  authorities  in 
suppressing  the  same,  — 

Now,  therefore,  I  command  you  that  you  cause  the  First 
Brigade,  and  the  Divisionary  Corps  of  Cadets,  to  be  de 
tailed  from  your  command,  and  armed  and  equipped,  and 
with  proper  ammunition,  as  the  law  directs,  and  with  the 
necessary  officers  attached  thereto,  to  parade  on  Boston 
Common,  on  Friday,  the  2d  day  of  June  next,  at  9  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  then  and  there  to  obey  such  orders  as  may  be  given 
to  you. 

Hereof  fail  not  at  your  peril ;  and  have  you  then  and 
there  this  warrant,  with  your  doings  recorded  thereon. 

Witness  my  hand,  and  the  seal  of  the  said  city  of  Bos 
ton,  this  31st  day  of  May,  1854. 

J.  V.  C.  SMITH, 
Mayor  of  the  City  of  Boston. 

Indorsed  on  this  warrant  is  the  following  : 

HEAD  QUARTERS,  1st  Div.  M.  V.  M.,  > 
BOSTON,  June  1,  1854.      $ 

I  hereby  certify  that  I  have  issued  the  orders  necessary 
for  assembling  the  force  called  for  by  this  precept. 

B.  F.  EDMANDS,  Maj.  Gen. 


APPENDIX.  267 

HEAD  QUARTERS,  1st  Div.  M.  V.  M.,  £ 
BOSTON,  June  1,  1854.      > 

SPECIAL    ORDER. 

Brigadier  General  Samuel  Andrews  is  hereby  ordered 
to  assemble  his  entire  Brigade  (1st  Brigade  M.  V.  M.)  on 
the  morning  of  the  2d  June  current,  in  uniform,  and  armed, 
equipped,  and  provided  with  ammunition  effectively  to 
carry  out  the  object  of  the  precept  served  upon  me  by  his 
Honor  the  Mayor  of  Boston,  a  copy  of  which  is  herewith 
sent  down.  He  will  report  himself  with  his  brigade,  at 
"  the  Parade  "  on  Boston  Common,  to  the  Division  Inspec 
tor,  promptly  at  8J-  o'clock  A.  M. 

Lieut.  Col.  Thomas  C.  Amory  will,  in  like  manner,  re 
port  himself  with  the  Divisionary  Corps  of  Cadets. 

Field  music  only  will  be  ordered  on  duty. 

The  hour  fixed  upon  for  the  Brigade  so  to  report,  gives 
only  half  an  hour  for  the  formation  of  the  Division  line, 
and  other  necessary  arrangements. 

By  command  of 

B.  F.  EDMANDS,  Maj.  Gen. 
FRANCIS  BOYD,  Div.  Insp. 


CITY  HALL,  June  2,  1854. 
General  Edmands : 

SIR,  —  The  U.  S.  Marshal  informs  me,  officially,  that 
he  shall  be  ready  to  move  escort  at  precisely  half-past  12 
o'clock,  and  you  will  therefore  govern  yourself  according. 
Please  inform  him  when  all  is  in  readiness.. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

J.  V.  C.  SMITH,  Mayor. 
The  boat  is  at  T  Wharf. 


268  APPENDIX. 

CITY  HALL,  June  2d,  1854, 
General  Edmands : 

SIR,  —  I  herewith  enclose  a  proclamation,  addressed  to 
the  citizens  of  Boston,  enjoining  good  order  and  obedience 
to  the  laws. 

With  high  consideration,  I  have  the  honor  to  remain 
Your  obedient  servant, 

J.  V.  C.  SMITH,  Mayor. 


APPENDIX    G. 

LETTERS    OF   U.  S.  MARSHAL  AND    U.    S.  DISTRICT   ATTOR 
NEY  TO    MAYOR    SMITH. 

BOSTON,  May  30,  1854. 
To  the  Hon.  J.  V.  C.  Smith,  Mayor  of  the  City  of  Boston  : 

SIR,  —  From  the  indications  of  an  armed  resistance  to 
the  laws,  and  the  assurances  of  the  military  officers  on 
duty,  it  is  manifest  that  the  force  now  under  the  orders  of 
Maj.  Gen.  Edmands  is  not  sufficient  to  preserve  the  peace 
of  the  city.  The  Marshal  has  at  his  disposal,  by  order  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  all  the  U.  S.  troops,  as 
an  armed  posse  comitatus,  which  can  at  present  be  drawn 
to  this  point.  He  does  not  ask  any  aid  to  execute  the 
fugitive  law  as  such.  Nothing  is  required  but  the  preser 
vation  of  the  peace  of  the  city,  and  the  suppression  of 
organized  rebellion. 

To  effect  this,  we  respectfully  submit  an  opinion,  that, 
if  bloodshed  is  to  be  prevented  in  the  public  streets,  there 
must  be  such  a  demonstration  of  a  military  force  as  will 
overawe  attack,  and  avoid  an  inevitable  conflict  between 
the  armed  posse  of  the  Marshal  and  the  rioters ;  and  earn 
estly  request  you,  under  the  views  which  Maj.  Gen.  Ed 
mands  has  communicated,  or  will  communicate,  to  you,  if 
desired,  that  you  will  exercise  the  powers  the  law  has  con 
fided  to  you,  to  place  under  his  command  such  a  body  of 
the  Volunteer  Militia  as  will  ensure  the  peace  of  the  city 
without  a  conflict. 

23*  (269) 


270  APPENDIX. 

From  the  opinion  of  the  military  gentlemen  with  whom 
we  have  conferred,  and  the  indications  from  all  other 
sources  of  information  within  our  reach,  we  beg  leave  to 
express  the  opinion  that  the  entire  command  of  General 
Edmands  within  the  city  will  be  requisite.  We  have  no 
express  authority  to  pledge  the  General  Government  to 
that  effect,  but  we  believe  that  the  expenses  incurred  by 
the  necessity  of  such  a  military  force  will  be  met  by  the 
President. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

WATSON  FREEMAN,  U.  S.  Marshal 

Approved.  —  B.  F.  HALLETT,  U.  S.  Atfy. 

OFFICE  OF  THE  U.  S.  MARSHAL  AND  OFFICE  OF  THE  U.  > 
S.  ATTORNEY,  BOSTON,  May  31,  1854  \ 

SIR,  —  In  reply  to  your  note  of  this  morning,  we  are 
authorized  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  state 
that  any  expense  incurred  for  the  city  military  or  other 
wise,  deemed  necessary  by  the  U.  S.  Attorney  and  U.  S. 
Marshal  to  enforce  the  laws,  will  be  paid  by  the  United 
States. 

We  deem  it  necessary  that,  when  the  decision  of  the 
Commissioner  is  to  be  given,  which  will  probably  be  to 
morrow  morning,  the  avenues  and  streets  around  the 
Court  House  should  be  cleared  of  the  crowd,  and  an  ample 
military  force  be  on  guard  to  preserve  the  peace  of  the 
city,  and  prevent  riot  or  personal  outrages,  which  are  then 
to  be  anticipated,  whatever  may  be  the  decision. 

And  we  further  deem  it  necessary  that,  if  the  Marshal 
with  his  posse  is  required  to  pass  through  the  streets  of 
the  city,  they  should  not  be  crowded  upon,  molested,  or 
placed  in  a  position  of  defence  which  may  render  it  neces 
sary  to  protect  themselves  by  a  resort  to  arms.  And  this 


APPENDIX.  271 

requires  the  whole  military  and  police  force  of  the  city  to 
preserve  the  peace  of  the  city,  and  prevent  riot  and  as 
saults  upon  the  officers  of  the  law  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duty. 

We  repeat  what  we  have  before  said,  that  the  United 
States  officers  do  not  desire  you  to  execute  the  process 
under  the  fugitive  law  of  the  United  States,  which  de 
volves  on  them  alone  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  but 
they  call  upon  you,  as  the  conservator  of  the  peace  of  the 
city,  to  prevent  the  necessity  of  conflict  between  the  posse 
of  the  Marshal  and  those  who  may  attempt  to  resist  them 
by  force  while  in  the  lawful  discharge  of  the  duties  required 
of  them,  whatever  those  duties  may  be.  Herewith  is  a 
copy  of  the  authority  derived  from  the  President  of  the 
United  States. 

Your  obedient  servants, 

B.  F.  HALLETT,  U.  S.  Atfy. 

WATSON  FREEMAN,  U.  S.  Marshal 

WASHINGTON,  May  31,  1854. 
To  B.  F.  Hallett,  U.  S.  Attorney. 

Incur  any  expense  deemed  necessary  by  the  Marshal 
and  yourself  for  city  military,  or  otherwise,  to  insure  the 
execution  of  the  law. 

(Signed)  FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 

Hon.  J.  V.  C.  SMITH,  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Boston. 

The  United  States  Marshal  requests  that  two  companies 
of  Light  Infantry  be  on  guard  for  the  night,  and  until 
further  orders. 

WATSON  FREEMAN,  U.  S.  Marshal. 
To  the  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Boston,  > 
May  31,  1854.  > 

Approved.  —  B.  F.  HALLETT.  U.  S.  Attorney. 


272  APPENDIX. 

The  opinion  of  the  Court  will  be  given  at  9  o'clock, 
Friday  morning,  and  it  is  deemed  that  the  request  from 
the  Marshal  and  IT.  S.  Attorney,  dated  this  day,  for  the 
whole  military  and  police  force  of  the  city  to  preserve  the 
peace  of  the  city,  take  effect  for  Friday  morning. 

W.  FREEMAN,  U.  S.  Marshal. 

Approved.  —  B.  F.  HALLETT,  U.  S.  Attorney. 


APPENDIX    H. 

TELEGRAPHIC    CORRESPONDENCE    BETWEEN    THE    U.    S. 
OFFICERS    AT   BOSTON   AND    THE   PRESIDENT. 

BOSTON,  May  27,  1854. 
To  the  President,  $c. 

In  consequence  of  an  attack  on  the  Court  House  last 
night  for  the  purpose  of  rescuing  a  fugitive  slave  under 
arrest,  and  in  which  one  of  my  own  guards  was  killed,  I 
have  availed  myself  of  the  resources  of  the  United  States 
placed  under  my  control  by  letters  from  the  War  and  Navy 
Departments  in  1851,  and  now  have  two  companies  of 
troops  from  Fort  Independence  stationed  in  the  Court 
House.  Everything  is  now  quiet.  The  attack  was  re 
pulsed  by  my  own  guard. 

WATSON  FREEMAN, 
U.  S.  Marshal^  Boston,  Mass. 

WASHINGTON,  May  27. 
To  Watson  Freeman,  U.  S.  Marshal,  Boston,  Mass. 

Your  conduct  is  approved.  The  law  must  be  exe 
cuted. 

FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 

"WASHINGTON,  May  30,  1854. 
To  Hon.  B.  F.  Hallett,  Boston,  Mass. 
What  is  the  state  of  the  case  of  Burns  ? 

SIDNEY  WEBSTER, 
Private  Sec'y  to  the  President. 
(273) 


274  APPENDIX. 

BOSTON,  May  30,  1854. 

The  case  is  progressing,  and  not  likely  to  close  till 
Thursday.  Then  armed  resistance  is  indicated.  But  two 
city  companies  on  duty.  The  Marshal  has  all  the  armed 
posse  he  can  muster :  more  will  be  needed  to  execute  the 
extradition  if  ordered.  Can  the  necessary  expenses  of 
the  city  military  be  paid  if  called  out  by  the  Mayor  at  the 
Marshal's  request  ?  This  alone  will  prevent  a  case  arising 
under  second  section  of  Act  of  1795,  when  it  will  be  too 
late  to  act.  B.  F.  HALLETT. 

WASHINGTON,  May  31,  1854. 
To  B.  F.  Hallett,  U.  S.  Atfy. 

Incur  any  expense  deemed  necessary  by  the  Marshal 
and  yourself,  for  city  military  or  otherwise,  to  insure  the 
execution  of  the  law.  FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 

BOSTON,  May  31. 
To  Sidney  Webster. 

Dispatch  received.  The  Mayor  will  preserve  the  peace 
with  all  the  military  and  police  of  the  city.  The  force 
will  be  sufficient.  Decision  will  be  made  day  after  to 
morrow,  of  the  case.  Court  adjourned. 

B.  F.  HALLETT. 

BOSTON,  June  2d. 
To  Sidney  Webster. 

The  Commissioner  has  granted  the  certificate.  Fugitive 
will  be  removed  to-day.  Ample  military  and  police  force 
to  effect  it  peacefully.  Law  reigns.  Col.  Cooper's  arrival 
opportune.1  B.  F.  HALLETT. 

1Col.  Cooper,  Adjutant  General  of  the  army,  had  been  ordered 
by  the  President,  May  31st,  to  Boston,  empowered  to  call  out,  if 
necessary,  the  two  companies  of  U.  S.  troops  at  New  York,  which 
had  been  under  arms  for  the  preceding  forty-eight  hours. 


APPENDIX  I. 

PROGRAMME  OF  ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  JUNE  2D. 

I.  THE  escort  will  consist  of  the  Marshal's  posse  comi~ 
tatus. 

II.  The  line  of  march  and  the  avenues  leading  thereto 
to  be  cleared  of  citizens,  and  the  military  and  police  guards 
of  the  city  posted,  before  the  escort  moves. 

III.  The  police  guards   to   be  posted  across  the  side 
streets  at  those  intersections  of  the  avenues  leading  thereto 
which  are  nearest  State  street,  and  the  military  guards  be 
tween  the  several  police  parties  and  State  street. 

IV.  One  company  of  Cavalry  to  be  posted  immediately 
below  the  old  State  House  to  support  the  clearing  of 
streets  if  necessary ;  then  to  move  from  square  to  square 
as  the  escort  moves  down,  preserving  the  same  interval  in 
advance  of  the  escort.     A  patrol  to  be  kept  in  front,  ob 
serving  the  several  cross  streets,  and,  on  their  reports, 
detachments   to    be   rapidly  advanced   to   any  point   of 
danger. 

V.  The  escort  to  move  in  the  following  order,  viz.  : 
1st.  Major  Ridgely's  Artillery  Battalion,  in  posts. 
2d.  One  platoon  Marines. 

3d.  The  Marshal's  civil  posse  guarding  the  fugitive. 
4th.  Two  platoons  of  Marines. 
5th.  Lt.  Couch's  field-piece. 

6th.  One  platoon  of  Marines  to  bring  up  the  rear  of 
the  escort  and  form  a  guard  to  the  field-piece. 

(275) 


276  APPENDIX. 

VI.  A  company  of  Cavalry  to  be  drawn  up   across 
Court  street  and  move  toward   the  old   State  House  as 
soon  as  the  escort  shall  have  passed  that  building,  and  take 
its  position  as  a  reserve  to  the  whole  force,  first  at  State 
House  and  next  in  rear  of  the  infantry  moving  down  State 
street  —  ready  to  act  as  emergencies  may  require. 

VII.  The  military    and   police  detachments   to   move 
from  the  side  avenues  into  State  street  as  soon  as  the  es 
cort  shall  have  passed  the  second  side  street  below  them, 
respectively,  and  gradually  move  down  State  street,  so  as 
to  be  within  supporting  distance  should  the  escort  be  at 
tacked.     These  detachments  will  march  by  a  flank  on  the 
sidewalks  so  as  to  leave  the  street  open  to  the  advance  of 
the  Cavalry,  when  necessary. 

June  2d,  1854. 


APPENDIX    J. 

TESTIMONIALS    TO   JOSEPH   K.    HATES. 

THE  resignation  by  Mr.  Hayes  of  his  office  as  Captain 
of  Police,  called  forth  numerous  testimonials  in  approval 
of  the  act.  Letters  to  that  effect  reached  him  from  all 
quarters.  One  lies  before  me  signed  by  seventy-one  ladies 
of  Maine.  Another,  from  West  Medway,  contains  one 
hundred  and  fifty  signatures.  The  following  was  received 
from  Senator  Sunnier : 

"WASHINGTON,  9th  June,  1854. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  desire  to  express  to  you  my  grat 
itude  for  your  magnanimous  example  on  a  recent  occasion. 
Of  course  you  did  right.  To  help  enslave  a  fellow  man 
in  Boston  cannot  be  less  heinous,  in  the  sight  of  God, 
than  to  do  it  on  the  coast  of  Congo.  In  resigning  your 
office  rather  than  do  this  thing,  you  have  led  the  way 
which  Public  Opinion  in  Massachusetts  will  indicate  to  all 
good  men. 

"  Believe  me,  my  dear  sir, 

"  Very  faithfully  yours, 

"  CHARLES  SUMNER. 
"  JOSEPH  K.  HATES,  Esq." 

Testimonials  of  substantial  value  were  also  presented ; 
a  gold  Watch  from  Plymouth,  a  Salver  of  massive  silver 
from  Boston.  Both  bore  suitable  inscriptions ;  that  on 
the  Salver  was  as  follows : 

24  (277) 


278  APPENDIX. 

"TO 

"JOSEPH   K.   HAYES,   ESQ., 

"  EX-CAPTAIN  OF  THE  WATCH  AND  POLICE  OF  THE  CITY  OF  BOSTON, 

"  This  Salver  is  presented  by  a  portion  of  his  fellow-cit 
izens,  as  a  Testimonial  of  their  admiration  for  his  conduct 
when  called  upon  by  the  MAYOR  of  BOSTON  to  perform 
an  act  which  he  regarded  as  unworthy  of  a  Man,  an 
American,  and  a  Christian. 

"  When  directed  to  assist  in  the  extradition  of  AN 
THONY  BURNS,  the  alleged  Slave,  he  RESIGNED  HIS 
OFFICE,  in  the  following  letter  : 

"  '  BOSTON,  June  2,  1856. 
"  *  To  his  Honor  the  Mayor,  and  Aldermen  of  the  City  of 

Boston : 

"  '  Through  all  the  excitement  attendant  upon  the  arrest 
and  trial  of  the  Fugitive  by  the  U.  S.  Government,  I  have 
not  received  an  order  which  I  have  conceived  inconsistent 
with  my  duties  as  an  Officer  of  the  Police  until  this  day, 
at  which  time  I  have  received  an  order  which,  if  per 
formed,  would  implicate  me  in  the  execution  of  that  infa 
mous  Fugitive  Slave  Bill.  I  therefore  resign  the  office 
which  I  now  hold  as  Captain  of  the  Watch  and  Police, 
from  this  hour,  11  o'clock.' 

"  We  are  proud  to  claim  as  a  fellow-citizen  one  who, 
though  poor,  cannot  be  bought,  who  loves  his  integrity  bet 
ter  than  his  daily  bread,  and  who  has  given  such  an  exam 
ple  of  what  a  TRUE  AMERICAN  CITIZEN  should  be. 

"  This  conduct  is  a  practical  denial  of  the  atheistic  doc 
trine  (the  most  dangerous  to  American  Liberty  because  of 
its  speciousness)  that  the  law  of  the  land  has  a  higher 


APPENDIX. 


279 


sanction  than  the  law  of  GOD,  a  doctrine  which,  if  true, 
renders  our  Forefathers  TRAITORS,  our  Revolution 
HIGH  TREASON. 

"  R.  E.  APTHORP, 

JAMES  CARPENTER, 

FRANCIS  CHILD s,      V  Committee.1' 

GEO.  B.  EMERSON, 

H.  A.  EMERY, 


APPENDIX    X. 

LETTER    OP   ANTHONY   BURNS    TO    THE    BAPTIST    CHURCH 
AT    UNION,    FAUQUIER    CO.,  VIRGINIA. 

"  IN  answer  to  my  request  by  mail,  under  date  July  13, 
1855,  for  a  letter  of  dismission  in  fellowship  and  of  rec 
ommendation  to  another  church,  I  have  received  a  copy 
of  the  Front  Royal  Gazette,  dated  Nov.  8,  1855,  in  which 
I  find  a  communication  addressed  to  myself  and  signed 
by  John  Clark,  as  pastor  of  your  body,  covering  your  offi 
cial  action  upon  my  request,  as  follows  : 

"  THE    CHURCH    OF    JESUS    CHRIST,    AT    UNION,     FAUQUIER  CO., 
VIRGINIA. 

"  To  all  whom  it  may  concern : 

WHEREAS,  Anthony  Burns,  a  member  of  this  church, 
has  made  application  to  us,  by  a  letter  to  our  pastor,  for 
a  letter  of  dismission,  in  fellowship,  in  order  that  he  may 
unite  with  another  church  of  the  same  faith  and  order; 
and  whereas,  it  has  been  satisfactorily  established  before 
us,  that  the  said  Anthony  Burns  absconded  from  the  ser 
vice  of  his  master,  and  refused  to  return  voluntarily  — 
thereby  disobeying  both  the  laws  of  God  and  man ; 
although  he  subsequently  obtained  his  freedom  by  pur 
chase,  yet  we  have  now  to  consider  him  only  as  a  fugitive 
from  labor  (as  he  was  before  his  arrest  and  restoration  to 
his  master),  have  therefore 

(280) 


APPENDIX.  281 

"Resolved,  Unanimously,  that  he  be  excommunicated 
from  the  communion  and  fellowship  of  this  church. 

"  Done  by  order  of  the  church,  in  regular  church  meet 
ing,  this  twentieth  day  of  October,  1855. 

«  WM.  W.  WEST,  ClerL" 

Thus  you  have  excommunicated  me,  on  the  charge  of 
"  disobeying  both  the  laws  of  God  and  men,"  u  in  abscond 
ing  from  the  service  of  my  master,  and  refusing  to  return 
voluntarily." 

I  admit  that  I  left  my  master  (so  called),  and  refused  to 
return ;  but  I  deny  that  in  this  I  disobeyed  either  the  law 
of  God,  or  any  real  law  of  men. 

Look  at  my  case.  I  was  stolen  and  made  a  slave  as 
soon  as  I  was  born.  No  man  had  any  right  to  steal  me. 
That  manstealer  who  stole  me  trampled  on  my  dearest 
rights.  He  committed  an  outrage  on  the  law  of  God ; 
therefore  his  manstealing  gave  him  no  right  in  me,  and 
laid  me  under  no  obligation  to  be  his  slave.  God  made 
me  a  man  —  not  a  slave  ;  and  gave  me  the  same  right  to 
myself  that  he  gave  the  man  who  stole  me  to  himself.  The 
great  wrongs  he  has  done  me,  in  stealing  me  and  making 
me  a  slave,  in  compelling  me  to  work  for  him  many  years 
without  wages,  and  in  holding  me  as  merchandize,  —  these 
wrongs  could  never  put  me  under  obligation  to  stay  with 
him,  or  to  return  voluntarily,  when  once  escaped. 

You  charge  me  that,  in  escaping,  I  disobeyed  God's  law. 
No,  indeed !  That  law  which  God  wrote  on  the  table  of 
my  heart,  inspiring  the  love  of  freedom,  and  impelling  me 
to  seek  it  at  every  hazard,  I  obeyed ;  and,  by  the  good 
hand  of  my  God  upon  me,  I  walked  out  of  the  house  of 
bondage. 

I  disobeyed  no  law  of  God  revealed  in  the  Bible.  I 
24* 


282  APPENDIX. 

read  in  Paul  (1  Cor.  7:21),  "  But,  if  thou  mayest  be  made 
free,  use  it  rather."  I  read  in  Moses  (Deut.  23  :  15,  16), 
"  Thou  shalt  not  deliver  unto  his  master  the  servant  which 
is  escaped  from  his  master  unto  thee.  He  shall  dwell  with 
thee,  even  among  you  in  that  place  which  he  shall  choose 
in  one  of  thy  gates,  where  it  liketh  him  best ;  thou  shalt 
not  oppress  him."  This  implies  my  right  to  flee  if  I  feel 
myself  oppressed,  and  debars  any  man  from  delivering  me 
again  to  my  professed  master. 

I  said  I  was  stolen.  God's  Word  declares,  "  He  that 
stealeth  a  man  and  selleth  him,  or  if  he  be  found  in  his 
hand,  he  shall  surely  be  put  to  death."  (Ex.  21:  16.) 
Why  did  you  not  execute  God's  law  on  the  man  who  stole 
me  from  my  mother's  arms  ?  How  is  it  that  you  trample 
down  God's  law  against  the  oppressor,  and  wrest  it  to  con 
demn  me,  the  innocent  and  oppressed?  Have  you  forgot 
ten  that  the  New  Testament  classes  "  manstealers  "  with 
"  murderers  of  fathers  "  and  "  murderers  of  mothers,"  with 
"manslayers  and  whoremongers?"  (1  Tim.  1:  9,  10.) 

The  advice  you  volunteered  to  send  me,  along  with  this 
sentence  of  excommunication,  exhorts  me,  when  I  shall 
come  to  preach  like  Paul,  to  send  every  runaway  home  to 
his  master,  as  he  did  Onesimus  to  Philemon.  Yes,  indeed 
I  would,  if  you  would  let  me.  I  should  love  to  send  them 
back  as  he  did,  "  NOT  NOW  AS  A  SERVANT,  but  above  a 
servant;  —  A  BROTHER  —  a  brother  beloved  —  both  in 
the  flesh  and  in  the  Lord;"  both  a  brother-man  and  a 
brother- Christian.  Such  a  relation  would  be  delightful  — 
to  be  put  on  a  level,  in  position,  with  Paul  himself.  "  If 
thou  count  me,  therefore,  a  partner,  receive  him  as  myself." 
I  would  to  God  that  every  fugitive  had  the  privilege  of 
returning  to  such  a  condition  —  to  the  embrace  of  such  a 
Christianity  —  "  not  now  as  a  servant,  but  above  a  ser- 


APPENDIX.  283 

vant," — a  "  partner,"  —  even  as  Paul  himself  was  to  Phile 
mon! 

You  charge  me  with  disobeying  the  laws  of  men.  I 
utterly  deny  that  those  things  which  outrage  all  right  are 
laws.  To  be  real  laws,  they  must  be  founded  in  equity. 

You  have  thrust  me  out  of  your  church  fellowship.  So 
be  it.  You  can  do  no  more.  You  cannot  exclude  me 
from  heaven ;  you  cannot  hinder  my  daily  fellowship  with 
God. 

You  have  used  your  liberty  of  speech  freely  in  exhort 
ing  and  rebuking  me.  You  are  aware  that  I  too  am  now 
where  I  may  think  for  myself,  and  can  use  great  freedom 
of  speech,  too,  if  I  please.  I  shall  therefore  be  only  re 
turning  the  favor  of  your  exhortation  if  I  exhort  you  to 
study  carefully  the  golden  rule,  which  reads,  "  All  tilings 
whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye 
even  so  to  them ;  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets." 
Would  you  like  to  be  stolen,  and  then  sold?  and  then 
worked  without  wages  ?  and  forbidden  to  read  the  Bible  ? 
and  be  torn  from  your  wife  and  children  ?  and  then,  if 
you  were  able  to  make  yourself  free,  and  should,  as  Paul 
said,  " use  it  rather"  would  you  think  it  quite  right  to  be 
cast  out  of  the  church  for  this  ?  If  it  were  done,  so  wick 
edly,  would  you  be  afraid  God  would  indorse  it  ?  Sup 
pose  you  were  to  put  your  soul  in  my  soul's  stead ;  how 
would  you  read  the  law  of  love  P1 

ANTHONY  BURNS. 

1  In  reply  to  a  note  which  I  addressed  to  Anthony,  respecting  this 
letter,  he  informed  me  that  while  he  had  some  little  assistance  in  its 
preparation,  it  was  for  substance  his  own. 


APPENDIX    L. 

THE   BARBE     SLAVE    CASE. THE     FIRST     TRIED    UNDER 

THE    CONSTITUTION    OF   1780. 

[The  following  account  of  the  first  slave  case  in  Massachusetts 
after  the  adoption  of  the  State  Constitution,  was  written  by  the  Rev. 
George  Allen,  of  Worcester,  and  is  taken  from  the  appendix  to  a 
discourse  preached  by  the  Rev.  James  Thompson,  D.  D.,  of  Barre, 
at  the  end  of  his  ministry  of  fifty  years  in  that  town.] 

This  was  the  case  of  a  negro  man  named  Walker,  be 
longing  to  this  town  (Barre).  Quock,  as  Walker  was 
commonly  called,  —  for  slaves,  having  in  law  no  fathers, 
and  their  mothers  no  husbands,  have  themselves  no  sur 
names,  but  are  called  like  horses  and  dogs,  as  the  whims 
of  their  masters  and  a  degrading  system  may  dictate,  — 
had  been  a  slave  of  Nathaniel  Jennison,  a  substantial 
farmer  of  Barre,  who  still  claimed  him  as  a  slave.  The 
constitution  was  ratified  in  the  spring  of  1780,  and  it  w^s 
now  summer,  when  a  long  day's  freedom  was  worth  some 
thing  more  than  a  short  day's  bondage  in  winter.  Haying 
was  at  hand,  and  Quock  was  a  rare  hand  at  haying. 
About  this  time,  William  Caldwell,  senior,1  a  neighbor  of 
Jennison  and  of  Quock,  too,  told  the  latter  that  he  was  a 
free  man,  and  offered  him  wages  if  he  would  bear  the 
heat  and  burden  of  the  day  on  his  farm,  a  proposal  made 
still  more  inviting  by  the  promise  of  Caldwell  that  he 
would  stand  between  him  and  harm  if  Jennison  should 

1  See  Note  at  the  end. 

(284) 


APPENDIX.  285 

punish  him  for  being  free.  Quock  loved  both  liberty  and 
the  reward  of  his  own  hard  toil,  though  he  had  never 
tasted  of  either ;  and  being  in  other  respects  a  man,  though 
an  African,  pondered  the  matter,  and  resolved  to  be  a 
freeman  in  Caldwell's  employ  rather  than  be  a  slave  in 
Jennison's  for  nothing.  Accordingly,  on  a  summer's  morn 
ing,  having  had  orders  the  night  before  from  Jennison  to 
be  up  betimes  and  mow  in  his  field,  Quock  was  up  by 
daybreak  and  soon  found  his  way  to  Caldwell's  meadow, 
with  a  scythe  as  busy  and  as  sure  as  Time's.  After  a 
while,  Jennison  went  to  his  field  to  see  that  all  was  well ; 
but  Quock  was  not  there,  nor  any  trace  of  his  handiwork. 
Not  a  swarth  was  laid,  not  a  flower  of  the  field  fallen. 
Jennison,  who  was  a  man  of  sense,  quickly  cast  about  him, 
and  suspected  the  whereabouts  of  the  fugitive.  He  at 
once  hied  over  to  Caldwell's  farm,  where,  at  a  distance,  he 
soon  spied  Quock,  as  busy  in  CaldweU's  meadow  as  he  had 
ever  been  in  his  own.  He  suddenly  stopped  on  the  brow 
of  a  hill  and  halloed  to  the  new-made  freeman  to  go  home. 
But  Quock  was  so  attentive  to  his  work,  or  so  engrossed 
in  contemplating  the  sweets  of  liberty,  that  he  seemed  to 
hear  nothing  from  a  distance.  Jennison  hurried  down  the 
hill,  and,  having  come  within  sure  hailing  distance,  tried 
the  persuasion  of  hard  threats  ;  but  all  in  vain,  for  Quock, 
encouraged  by  Caldwell's  presence,  and  not  forgetting  the 
promise  of  a  strong  and  resolute  man  to  stand  between 
him  and  harm,  answered  never  a  word,  but  kept  on  mow 
ing  as  though  nothing  had  happened.  Jennison,  baffled 
in  his  experiment,  and  well  knowing  where  he  was  and 
with  whom  he  had  to  do,  went  back  more  vexed  than  he 
came,  resolved  to  bide  his  time,  which,  after  lingering,  at 
last  came,  though  not  altogether  in  the  very  shape  he 
looked  for.  *  *  *  * 


286  APPENDIX. 

How  soon  Jennison  re-assumed  his  authority  over  Quock 
as  his  slave,  I  cannot  say ;  but  the  first  experiment  I  know 
of  was  that  which  gave  rise  to  the  trial  in  the  Supreme 
Court  whose  issue  settled  forever  the  question  of  slavery  in 
Massachusetts  ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that  so  few  particu 
lars  are  recorded  of  a  case  which  excited,  at  the  time  of 
the  occurrence,  so  much  interest,  and  was  followed  by  con 
sequences  so  marked  and  lasting.  Seventy  years  have 
elapsed  since  the  issue  was  tried,  and  freedom  triumphed. 
The  men  who  witnessed  it  are  gone ;  and  the  voices  of 
tradition  have  become  few  and  indistinct.  The  personal 
narrative  already  given  is  related  on  hearsay,  not  very 
recent.  What  follows  I  take  from  a  copy  of  the  record 
of  court  obtained  several  years  ago,  and  now  before  me 
in  the  crabbed  and  uncouth  dialect  of  ancient  legal  bar 
barity. 

By  the  record  it  appears  that  "  on  the  first  day  of  May, 
A.  D.  1781,  the  said  Nathaniel,  with  his  fist,  and  a  large 
stick,  which  the  said  Nathaniel  held  in  his  hand,  the  said 
Quock  did  beat,  bruise,  and  evilly  intreat,  and  him,  the  said 
Quock,  with  force  and  arms,  did  imprison  during  the  space 
of  two  hours."  The  indictment  was  found  at  the  Septem 
ber  term  of  the  Supreme  Court,  1781;  but  the  trial  did 
not  take  place  till  the  April  term,  1783,  at  which  time 
Jennison  was  found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of 
forty  shillings,  with  the  costs  of  prosecution,  and  ordered 
to  stand  committed  till  sentence  be  performed.  The  record 
states  that  Jennison  pleaded  not  guilty,  but  does  not  indi 
cate  the  ground  of  his  defence,  nor  any  opinion  of  the 
court  from  which  it  might  be  inferred.  Both,  however, 
are  briefly  stated  by  Dr.  Belknap,  in  his  correspondence 
with  Judge  Tucker  of  Virginia,  in  1796,  in  which  he  says, 
"  His  (Jennison's)  defence  was,  that  the  black  was  his 


APPENDIX.  287 

slave,  and  that  the  beating,  &c.,  was  the  necessary  restraint 
and  correction  of  the  master.  This  was  answered  by 
citing  the  clause  in  the  declaration  of  rights, '  all  men  are 
born  free  and  equal.'  The  judges  and  jury  were  of 
opinion  that  he  had  no  right  to  beat  or  imprison  the  negro." 
(Collections  of  Mass.  Hist.  Society,  vol.  iv.) 

The  issue  of  the  prosecution  of  Jennison  was  virtually 
the  decision  of  the  highest  tribunal  in  the  State,  that 
slavery  had  no  legal  existence  in  Massachusetts ;  and  its 
immediate  effect  was  to  set  free  all  who  were  held  hi  bond 
age  within  her  jurisdiction.  It  carried  out,  in  its  true  idea, 
the  unanimous  resolve  of  the  convention  that  formed  the 
constitution,  "  that  the  government  of  Massachusetts  shall 
be  a  FREE  REPUBLIC."  It  was  the  first  decision  on  this 
continent,  if  not  the  first  in  the  world,  which  gave  freedom 
to  the  collective  slaves  of  a  sovereign  State,  where  a  like 
servitude  had  been  expressly  or  tacitly  allowed.  Several 
cases,  however,  had  occurred  in  other  parts  of  Massachu 
setts,  of  slaves  sueing  their  masters  in  the  inferior  Courts 
for  freedom  and  wages ;  and  "  the  juries  invariably  gave 
their  verdict  in  favor  of  liberty ; "  but  the  legal  effect  of 
such  verdicts  reached  none  but  the  parties  immediately 
concerned.  *  I  have  searched,  both  here  and 

in  Boston,  where  the  early  records  of  the  Supreme  Court 
were  exclusively  kept,  for  the  list  of  the  grand  jury  which 
formed  the  indictment,  but  without  success.  The  names 
of  the  jury  which  tried  the  Barre  Slave  Case,  if  I  may  now 
venture  to  call  it  such,  were,  foreman,  Jonas  How,  and 
fellows,  William  McFarland,  Isaac  Choate,  Joseph  Bige- 
low,  John  White,  Daniel  Ballard,  Ebenezer  Lovell,  Phil 
lips  Goodridge,  John  Lyon,  Jonathan  Woodbury,  Thomas 
White,  and  John  Town. 

NOTE.  —  It  was  not  William,  but  John  Caldwell.     I  have  this  fact 


288  APPENDIX. 

from  his  grandson,  Seth  Caldwell,  Esq.,  of  Barre,  who  had  fre 
quently  heard  both  his  father  and  his  grandfather  relate  all  the  cir 
cumstances.  From  the  same  source  I  have  derived  some  additional 
particulars  of  interest  which  I  will  here  set  down. 

John  Caldwell  was  a  man  of  property  and  influence,  and  the  lead 
ing  magistrate  in  the  town.  Before  the  Revolution,  he  had  repre 
sented  Barre  in  the  General  Court.  In  advising  Quock  of  his 
rights  as  a  freeman,  he  did  no  worse  for  his  neighbor  Jennison  than 
he  had  done  for  himself;  for  he  had  already  emancipated  his  own 
slave,  Mercy,  and  not  only  so,  but  had  also  made  provision  for  her 
comfort.  Another  neighbor,  John  Black,  had  emancipated  his  slave 
Dick,  Mercy's  husband,  at  the  same  time.  Caldwell  and  Black  then 
built  a  small  house  and  presented  to  the  pair,  and  they  dwelt  in  it 
for  many  years  afterwards,  earning  their  own  support.  Not  long 
after  Quock  left  Jennison,  the  latter  went  over  to  Caldwell's  farm 
with  several  men,  for  the  purpose  of  removing  his  slave  (as  he  still 
called  him)  by  force;  but  Quock,  backed  by  Caldwell,  presented  so 
bold  a  front,  being  determined  to  resist,  even  unto  blood,  that  Jen 
nison  thought  it  prudent  to  retire,  without  even  attempting  a  seizure. 
Quock  continued  with  Caldwell  until  his  freedom  was  legally  de 
creed,  Caldwell  acting  as  his  chief  friend  and  adviser  in  carrying  the 
case  through  court.  He  afterward  married,  became  the  possessor 
of  a  little  homestead  in  Barre,  and  there  continued  to  reside  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  about  forty  years  since. 

Quock  had  a  younger  brother,  named  Prince  Walker,  who  was 
also  the  slave  of  Jennison.  When  about  seven  years  old,  he  was 
sold  to  a  man  in  East  Windsor,  Ct.  Prince  kept  the  reckoning  of  his 
age  until  he  was  twenty-one,  and  then  escaped  from  his  master  and 
returned  to  Barre.  His  master  followed  and  made  repeated  efforts 
to  recover  him,  but  without  success.  This  "fugitive  slave  case" 
occurred  about  two  years  after  the  passage  of  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Act  of  1793.  Slavery  had  previously  been  abolished  in  Connecticut, 
and  it  does  not  appear  on  what  ground  the  reclamation  was  made. 
Prince,  like  his  brother,  married  and  settled  in  Barre,  where  he  is 
still  living  (August,  1856),  at  a  very  advanced  age.  He  is,  perhaps, 
the  last  survivor  of  the  Massachusetts  slaves.  —  C.  E.  S. 


APPENDIX    M. 

SPEECH    OF  THEODORE    PARKER  AT    THE    FANEUIL    HALL 
MEETING. 

[The  speech  which  follows  was  phonographically  reported  for  the 
Worcester  Daily  Spy.  It  should  have  been  inserted  at  page  39  of 
this  volume,  but  I  was  not  made  aware  that  such  a  report,  or  indeed 
that  any  report,  was  in  existence,  until  a  large  part  of  the  work  had 
been  stereotyped.] 

Fellow-subjects  of  Virginia,  —  [loud  cries  of  "  no,  no," 
and  "you  must  take  that  back!"]  Fellow-citizens  of 
Boston,  then, —  ["yes,  yes,"] — I  come  to  condole  with 
you  at  this  second  disgrace  that  is  heaped  on  the  city,  made 
illustrious  by  some  of  those  faces  that  were  once  so  famil 
iar  to  our  eyes  (alluding  to  the  portraits  of  the  great  men 
of  the  past,  which  once  hung  conspicuously  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  but  which  have  been  removed  to  obscure  and  out-of- 
the-way  locations).  Fellow-citizens,  a  deed  which  Vir 
ginia  commands  has  just  been  done  in  the  city  of  John 
Hancock,  and  the  "  brace  of  Adamses."  It  was  done  by 
a  Boston  hand.  It  was  a  Boston  man  who  issued  the 
warrant ;  it  was  a  Boston  Marshal  who  put  it  in  execution ; 
they  are  Boston  men  who  are  seeking  to  kidnap  a  citizen 
of  Massachusetts,  and  send  him  into  slavery  for  ever  and 
ever.  It  is  our  fault  that  it  is  so.  Eight  years  ago,  a 
merchant  of  Boston  "  kidnapped  a  man  on  the  high  road 
between  Faneuil  Hall  and  old  Quincy,"  at  12  o'clock  —  at 
the  noon  of  day ;  and  the  next  day  mechanics  of  this  city 

25  (289) 


290  APPENDIX. 

exhibited  the  half-eagles  that  they  had  received  for  their 
share  of  the  spoils,  in  enslaving  a  brother  man.  You 
called  a  meeting  in  this  hall.  It  was  as  crowded  as  it  is 
now.  I  stood  side  by  side  with  my  friend  and  former 
neighbor,  your  honorable  and  noble  chairman  to-night 
[loud  cheers],  and  that  man  who  had  fought  for  the  cause 
of  liberty  in  Greece,  and  been  imprisoned  for  that  sacred 
cause  in  the  dungeons  of  Poland  (Dr.  Samuel  G.  Howe), 
stood  here  and  introduced  to  the  audience  that  "  old  man 
eloquent,"  John  Quincy  Adams  [loud  cheers].  It  was  the 
last  time  he  ever  stood  in  Faneuil  Hall.  He  came  to  de 
fend  the  inalienable  rights  of  a  friendless  negro  slave, 
kidnapped  in  Boston.  There  is  even  no  picture  of  JOHN 
QUINCY  ADAMS  to-night!  A  Suffolk  grand  jury  could 
find  no  indictment  against  the  Boston  merchant  for  kid 
napping  that  man  ["  shame,"  "  shame  "].  If  Boston  had 
spoken  then,  we  should  not  have  been  here  to-night.  We 
should  have  had  no  Fugitive  Slave  Bill.  When  that  bill 
passed,  we  fired  a  hundred  guns.  Don't  you  remember 
the  Union  meeting,  held  in  this  very  hall  ?  A  man  stood 
on  this  platform  —  he  is  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court 
now  —  and  he  said,  "  When  a  certain  '  reverend  gentle 
man  '  is  indicted  for  perjury,  I  should  like  to  ask  him  how 
he  will  answer  the  charge  ?  "  And,  when  that  "  reverend 
gentleman "  rose,  and  asked,  "  Do  you  want  an  answer 
now  to  your  question  ?  "  Faneuil  Hall  cried  out,  "  No," 
«  no,"  —  «  Throw  him  over ! "  Had  Faneuil  Hall  spoken 
then  on  the  side  of  truth  and  freedom,  we  should  not  now 
be  the  subjects  of  Virginia.  Yes,  we  are  the  vassals  of 
Virginia.  It  reaches  its  arm  over  the  graves  of  our 
mothers,  and  it  kidnaps  men  in  the  city  of  the  Puritans, 
over  the  graves  of  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock 
[cries  of  "  shame "].  Shame  !  So  I  say ;  but  who 


APPENDIX.  291 

is  to  blame  ?  "  There  is  no  North,"  said  Mr.  Webster. 
There  is  none.  The  South  goes  clear  up  to  the  Canada 
line.  No,  gentlemen,  there  is  no  Boston  to-day.  There 
was  a  Boston  once.  Now,  there  is  a  north  suburb  to  the 
city  of  Alexandria;  that  is  what  Boston  is  [laughter]. 
And  you  and  I,  fellow-subjects  of  the  State  of  Virginia 
[cries  of  "no,"  "no"].  I  will  take  it  back  when  you 
show  me  the  fact  is  not  so.  Men  and  brothers  (brothers, 
at  any  rate),  I  am  an  old  man ;  I  have  heard  hurrahs  and 
cheers  for  liberty  many  times ;  I  have  not  seen  a  great 
many  deeds  done  for  liberty.  I  ask  you,  are  we  to  have 
deeds  as  well  as  words  ?  ['<  yes,"  "  yes,"  and  loud  cheers.] 

Now,  brethren,  —  you  are  brothers  at  any  rate,  whether 
citizens  of  Massachusetts  or  subjects  of  Virginia, —  (I  am 
a  minister),  and,  fellow-citizens  of  Boston,  there  arc  two 
great  laws  in  this  country ;  one  of  them  is  the  LAW  OP 
SLAVERY;  that  law  is  declared  to  be  a  "finality."  Once 
the  Constitution  was  formed  "  to  establish  justice,  promote 
tranquility,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves 
and  our  posterity."  Now,  the  Constitution  is  not  to  secure 
liberty ;  it  is  to  extend  slavery  into  Nebraska  ;  and,  when 
slavery  is  established  there,  in  order  to  show  what  it  is, 
there,  comes  a  sheriff  from  Alexandria  to  kidnap  a  man  in 
the  city  of  Boston,  and  he  gets  a  Judge  of  Probate,  in  the 
county  of  Suffolk,  to  issue  a  writ,  and  a  Boston  man  to 
execute  that  writ !  [  cries  of  "  shame,"  "  shame."] 

Slavery  tramples  on  the  Constitution  ;  it  treads  down 
State  rights.  Where  are  the  rights  of  Massachusetts? 
A  Fugitive  Slave  Law  Commissioner  has  got  them  all  in 
his  pocket.  Where  is  the  trial  by  jury?  Watson  Free 
man  has  it  under  his  Marshal's  staff.  Where  is  the  great 
right  of  personal  replevin,  which  our  fathers  wrested,  sev 
eral  hundred  years  ago,  from  the  tyrants  who  once  lorded 


292  APPENDIX. 

it  over  Great  Britain  ?  Judge  Sprague  trod  it  under  liis 
feet !  Where  is  the  sacred  right  of  habeas  corpus  ?  Dep 
uty  Marshal  Riley  can  crush  it  in  his  hands,  and  Boston 
does  not  say  anything  against  it.  Where  are  the  laws 
of  Massachusetts  forbidding  state  edifices  to  be  used  as 
prisons  for  the  incarceration  of  fugitives  ?  They,  too,  are 
trampled  under  foot.  "  Slavery  is  a  finality." 

These  men  came  from  Virginia  to  kidnap  a  man  here. 
Once,  this  was  Boston ;  now,  it  is  a  northern  suburb  of 
Alexandria.  At  first,  when  they  carried  a  fugitive  slave 
from  Boston,  they  thought  it  was  a  difficult  thing  to  do  it. 
They  had  to  get  a  Mayor  to  help  them ;  they  had  to  put 
chains  round  the  Court  House ;  they  had  to  call  out  the 
"  Sims'  Brigade ;  "  it  took  nine  days  to  do  it.  Now,  they 
are  so  confident  that  we  are  subjects  of  Virginia  that  they 
do  not  even  put  chains  round  the  Court  House ;  the  police 
have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  I  was  told,  to-day,  that  one 
of  the' officers  of  the  city  said  to  twenty-eight  policemen, 
if  any  man  in  the  employment  of  the  city  meddles  in  this 
business,  he  will  be  discharged  from  service  without  a 
hearing,  [great  applause].  Well,  gentlemen,  how  do  you 
think  they  received  that  declaration  ?  They  shouted,  and 
hurrahed,  and  gave  three  cheers,  [renewed  applause.] 
My  friend  here  would  not  have  the  honor  of  presiding 
over  you  to-night,  if  application  had  been  made  a  little 
sooner  to  the  Mayor.  Another  gentleman  told  me  that, 
when  he  was  asked  to  preside  at  this  meeting,  he  said  that 
he  regretted  that  all  his  time  to-night  was  previously  en 
gaged.  If  he  had  known  it  earlier,  he  said,  he  might  have 
been  able  to  make  arrangements  to  preside.  When  the 
man  was  arrested,  he  told  the  Marshal  he  regretted  it,  and 
that  his  sympathies  were  wholly  with  the  slave,  [loud 
applause].  Fellow-citizens,  remember  that  word.  Hold 


APPENDIX.  293 

your  Mayor  to  it,  and  let  it  be  seen  that  he  has  got  a 
background,  and  a  foreground,  which  will  authorize  him  to 
repeat  that  word  in  public,  and  act  it  out  in  Faneuil  Hall. 
I  say,  so  confident  are  the  slave  agents  now  that  they  can 
carry  off  their  slave,  in  the  day-time,  that  they  do  not  put 
chains  round  the  Court  House ;  they  have  got  no  soldiers 
billeted  in  Faneuil  Hall,  as  in  1851.  They  think  they 
can  carry  this  man  off  to-morrow  morning  in  a  cab,  [voices 
—  "  they  can't  do  it "  —  "  let 's  see  them  try"]. 

I  say,  there  are  two  great  laws  in  this  country.  One  is 
the  slave  law :  that  is  the  law  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States ;  it  is  Senator  Douglas's  law ;  it  is  the  law 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States ;  it  is  the  law 
of  the  Commissioner ;  it  is  the  law  of  every  Marshal,  and 
of  every  meanest  ruffian  whom  the  Marshal  hires  to  exe 
cute  his  behests.  There  is  another  law,  which  my  friend, 
Mr.  Phillips,  has  described  in  language  such  as  I  cannot 
equal,  and  therefore  shall  not  try ;  I  only  state  it  in  its 
plainest  terms.  It  is  the  law  of  the  people,  when  they  are 
sure  they  are  right  and  determined  to  go  ahead,  [cheers]. 

Now,  gentlemen,  there  was  a  Boston  once,  and  you  and 
I  had  fathers  —  brave  fathers ;  and  mothers  who  stirred 
up  those  fathers  to  manly  deeds.  Well,  gentlemen,  once 
it  came  to  pass  that  the  British  Parliament  enacted  a 
"  law  "  —  they  called  it  a  law —  issuing  stamps  here.  What 
did  your  fathers  do  on  that  occasion  ?  They  said,  in  the 
language  of  Algernon  Sydney,  quoted  in  your  resolutions, 
"  That  which  is  not  just  is  not  law,  and  that  which  is  not 
law  ought  not  to  be  obeyed,"  [cheers].  They  did  not  obey 
the  stamp  act.  They  did  not  call  it  a  law,  and  the  man 
that  did  call  it  a  law  here,  eighty  years  ago,  would  have 
had  a  very  warm  coat  of  tar  and  feathers  on  him.  They 
called  it  an  "  act,"  and  they  took  the  Commissioner  who 
25* 


294  APPENDIX. 

was  here  to  execute  it,  took  him  solemnly,  manfully,  — 
they  didn't  harm  a  hair  of  his  head;  they  were  non-resist 
ants  of  a  very  potent  sort  [laughter], — and  made  him 
take  a  solemn  oath  that  he  would  not  issue  a  single  stamp. 
He  was  brother-in-law  of  the  Governor  of  the  State,  the 
servant  of  a  royal  master,  exceedingly  respectable,  of 
great  wealth,  and  once  very  popular ;  but  they  took  him, 
and  made  him  swear  not  to  execute  his  commission ; 
and  he  kept  his  oath,  and  the  stamp  act  went  to  its  own 
place,  and  you  know  what  that  was,  [cheers].  That  was 
an  instance  of  the  people  going  behind  a  wicked  law  to 
enact  absolute  justice  into  their  justice,  and  making  it  com 
mon  lav:.  You  know  what  they  did  with  the  tea. 

Well,  gentlemen,  in  the  South  there  is  a  public  opinion 
(it  is  a  very  wicked  public  opinion),  which  is  stronger  than 
law.  When  a  colored  seaman  goes  to  Charleston  from 
Boston  he  is  clapped  instantly  into  jail,  and  kept  there 
until  the  vessel  is  ready  to  sail,  and  the  Boston  merchant 
or  master  must  pay  the  bill,  and  the  Boston  black  man 
must  feel  the  smart.  That  is  a  wicked  example,  set  by 
the  State  of  South  Carolina.  When  Mr.  Hoar,  one  of 
our  most  honored  and  respected  fellow-citizens,  was  sent 
to  Charleston,  to  test  the  legality  of  this  iniquitous  law,  the 
citizens  of  Charleston  ordered  him  off  the  premises,  and 
he  was  glad  to  escape,  to  save  himself  from  further  insult. 
There  was  no  violence,  no  guns  fired.  This  is  an  instance 
of  the  strength  of  public  opinion — of  a  most  unjust  and 
iniquitous  public  opinion. 

Well,  gentlemen,  I  say  there  is  one  law — slave  law;  it 
is  everywhere.  There  is  another  law,  which  also  is  a 
finality ;  and  that  law,  it  is  in  your  hands  and  your  arms, 
and  you  can  put  that  in  execution  just  when  you  see  fit. 
Gentlemen,  I  am  a  clergyman  and  a  man  of  peace  ;  I  love 


APPENDIX.  295 

peace.  But  there  is  a  means,  and  there  is  an  end ;  liberty 
is  the  end,  and  sometimes  peace  is  not  the  means  towards 
it  [applause].  Now  I  want  to  ask  you  what  you  are 
going  to  do  [a  voice  —  "  shoot,  shoot "].  There  are  ways 
of  managing  this  matter,  without  shooting  anybody.  Be 
sure  that  these  men  who  have  kidnapped  a  man  in  Boston 
are  cowards,  every  mother's  son  of  them ;  and,  if  we  stand 
up  there  resolutely,  and  declare  that  this  man  shall  not 
go  out  of  the  city  of  Boston,  without  shooting  a  gun — 
[cries  of  "that's  it,"  and  great  applause],  —  then  he 
won't  go  back.  Now,  I  am  going  to  propose  that  when 
you  adjourn,  it  be  to  meet  in  Court  Square  to-morrow 
morning  at  9  o'clock.  As  many  as  are  in  favor  of  that 
motion  will  raise  their  hands,  [a  large  number  of  hands 
were  raised,  but  many  voices  cried  out,  "Let 's  go  to-night," 
"  let 's  pay  a  visit  to  the  slave-catchers  at  the  Revere 
House,"  etc.,  etc.]  Do  you  propose  to  go  to  the  Revere 
House  to-night?  then  show  your  hands,  [some  hands 
were  held  up].  It  is  not  a  vote.  We  shall  meet  in  Court 
Square  at  9  o'clock  to-morrow  morning. 


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